'It's Like We're a Normal Way and Everyone Else is Different': Australian children's constructions of citizenship and national identity

The more people are urged to 'think globally' and to see themselves as 'citizens of the world', the more taken-for granted notions of national belonging (national identity) are called into question. Nowhere has this been more evident than in Australia where, in recent times, a number of events have caused Australians to think most carefully about what it means to be Australian. While there have been plenty of opportunities for adults to debate these issues, little attention has been paid to the way children are now conceptualising their senses of 'belonging'. Do children see themselves as global citizens, an identity they are increasingly encouraged to embrace through mass media, mass communications and the Internet, or do they see themselves as belonging to an entity called 'Australia', or are they juggling with both identities? This study examines how 28 young Australian children are thinking about what it means to be 'Australian' and 'a citizen' in global times.     

Holy Lemons! Learning from children's uses of the Internet in out‐of‐school contexts

The Internet offers new possibilities for engaging with information and is associated with a wide range of literacy practices. National guidance in the United Kingdom on ‘reading the web’, however, has focused largely on the different skills children may need to learn in school to navigate web‐based texts successfully. Here it is argued that much can be learned both about the potential of the web and of the kinds of reading associated with it by examining children's use of the Internet outside school. This article therefore begins with an overview of particular features of on‐screen reading and the different practices and orientations towards knowledge associated with this. It then reports on the use of the Internet out of school by a group of Year 6 children. It explores the purposes for which these children access the Internet, the attitudes and orientations they demonstrate in their approach to web‐based texts, and their own perceptions of what has enabled them to develop as Internet users. This exploration highlights the way that children may experiment and innovate in their use of the Internet out of school, and in doing so demonstrate considerable autonomy. These findings are used to make suggestions for framing and supporting children's Internet use in school.     

Imaginative interaction with Internet games. For children and teachers

This article explores children's imaginative interaction with Internet games in the belief that an understanding of children's life experiences is essential to effective teaching and learning within the classroom. It is underpinned by the idea that imaginative play is, at least in some part, the work of children undertaking identity practice. It focuses on a small group case study of 8‐ and 9‐year‐old children, from diverse cultural backgrounds, who were regular players on free‐access commercial Internet games. As children frequently perform imaginative narrative play both privately and in groups triggered from experiences with novels, films and television, the research initially focused on whether similar activities resulted from experiences with commercially sponsored free Internet game sites. If so, to what extent might these texts also influence children's creative output? To explore this, the children attended a weekly after‐school computer club during which they played on Internet games. During the course of the club sessions, each child was observed and interviewed about the experiences they had resulting from the gameplay. Through consideration of the children's play and opinions, the teacher researcher developed valuable insights into her students and their worlds to the benefit of her practice.     

The Distinction Between Knowing When to do a Sum and Knowing How to do it

Abstract There is a difference between recognising what kind of sum is needed to solve a mathematical problem on the one hand and doing the sum correctly on the other. There are good grounds for pursuing this distinction. One is that the easy availability of calculators makes the second element a great deal easier for children who know how to use them. Another is that current work on children's cognitive development shows that there are many problems which children have the skill to solve but nevertheless fail to solve because they do not always realise when the skill is needed. I report a pilot study which demonstrates the same sort of thing with subtraction and which deals with the conditions which might encourage children to use the mathematical skills that they do have more effectively.     

We Can Decide What to Play! Children's Perception of Quality in an Icelandic Playschool

The study was conducted with a group of 5 and 6 year old children in one playschool in Reykjavík, Iceland. The purpose of the study was to shed light on what life in an Icelandic playschool is like for the children attending the program, finding out their views on why they attend playschool, what they do and learn in playschool, what the adults do there, what they enjoy and what they don't like, and what they can or cannot decide in playschool. The study used varied research methods, such as group interviews, children's photographs, children's pictures, and a questionnaire using a cardboard game, to discover children's perceptions and opinions. The results of the study revealed that the children had strong opinions about their playschool life and expressed them clearly.     

Adult Questions and Children's Responses: Coordination of perspectives in studies of children's theories of other minds

The main aim of this study is to shed light on the issue of how children learn to identify what is meant by what is said in communicative practices. The study replicates and extends the well-known work on what is referred to as children's 'theories of other minds'. The focus in the present study is on the interplay between the adult and the child, the nature of the task and the child's position in the communicative encounter. Rather than assuming that children have or do not have 'theories of other minds', we explore the communicative conditions under which children can be made sensitive to the nature of other people's (mistaken) beliefs. The empirical work was carried out amongst children aged three to five, since this is the critical age at which it is claimed that children become sensitive to the fact that other people's perspectives of a situation may differ from their own. The results show that whether or not children 'are able' to adopt other people's perspectives is very much a situated affair and reflects the manner in which they are brought into a position where they can share the framing of the adult. The questions posed are interpreted differently by the children in ways that go beyond the intended difference that concerns perspectivity. The test situation is polysemous in many respects and the variation in responses cannot be reduced to such a simple distinction as the one implied in the theory of mind research paradigm, which represents a monological conception of communication.     

Proposing a framework to assess Internet usage in university education: an empirical investigation from a student's perspective

University administrators are continuously investing in Information Technology (IT) to support learning and help deal with educational budget cuts. Instructors are increasingly making their teaching materials available on the Internet. While administrators and instructors would like to make the Internet an effective educational tool, they need to understand what their students’ attitudes towards using it are. Since the use of the Internet in university education is still in its early stages, many issues regarding its use have not been fully addressed. This study was conducted to provide a better understanding of how the Internet is used in university learning from a student's perspective. Our research framework is based on the Theory of Reasoned Action, Technology Acceptance Model, and IT Diffusion Process Model. We use a survey conducted among university students to explore these issues. Research findings provide some useful insights for university administrators and educators.     

Mind,Brain, and Education in the Digital Era

Computers are everywhere, and they are transforming the human world. The technology of computers and the Internet is radically changing the ways that people learn and communicate. In the midst of this technology‐driven revolution people need to examine the changes to analyze how they are altering interaction and human culture. The changes have already permeated societies around the world, altering learning, teaching, communication, politics, and most aspects of human interaction. The possibilities for improving educational effectiveness seem powerful, as a result of an information revolution with online access to infinite information and numerous teaching and learning activities of adults and children at school, at home, and in public places. An urgent need is for systematic longitudinal studies of what happens with learning and teaching as people use computers and play with the Internet. Perhaps the new technologies make possible a new kind of constructive dialogue, with intertwining of teaching and learning in a dynamic double helix of questions and answers, of modeling and experimentation. This special section will deal with (1) uses of new technologies to help people teach and learn more effectively, (2) uses of individual laptops to help children learn, (3) creation of new tools for learning and assessment, and (4) techniques that image brain structure and activity.     

Educational psychologists' use of therapeutic interventions: issues arising from two exploratory case studies

This article considers the evolving role of the educational psychologist (EP) in providing therapeutic support to children and young people. Through two small‐scale research studies, EPs' use of therapeutic interventions and issues in delivering them are explored. Findings reveal use of a range of therapeutic interventions in different contexts with schools and multi‐agency partners. Issues relate to opportunities to practise therapeutic interventions due to competing pressures, access to supervision and perceptions of the EP role. Themes emerging from the studies are explored systematically using a SWOT framework to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to EPs' use of therapeutic interventions. It is hoped that a forthcoming UK‐wide study into EPs' use of therapy will provide a more sophisticated picture about some of the issues raised in this article.     

Closing Sex Education's Knowledge/Practice Gap: The reconceptualisation of young people's sexual knowledge

In rethinking what is theoretically conceived as a 'gap' between what young people learn in sexuality education and what they do in practice, this article argues for the need to comprehend young people's sexual knowledge from their own conceptualisation of this. Drawing on empirical findings from research with New Zealanders aged 17-19, young people's own understandings of their sexual knowledge are explored. These findings indicate how young people in the study conceptualised sexual knowledge in two ways: as information derived from secondary sources such as sexuality education, and knowledge gleaned from personal sexual experience. Hierarchies were evident within and between such types of sexual knowledge, in terms of the status young people afforded, and the interest they displayed in them. The type of sexual knowledge young people were most interested in, and which they identified as lacking in sexuality education, centred on a 'discourse of erotics'. It is argued that the inclusion of this discourse within sexuality education programmes might offer one way of closing the knowledge/practice gap, by raising the status of sexuality education's messages for young people and drawing this information closer to their lived sexual experiences.     

Children's skill in making predictions and their understanding of what predicting means: A developmental study

The purpose of this study was to describe the development of elementary students' skill in making predictions and of their understanding of what predicting means. The study involved observing and assessing the performance of 167 children on the Physical Manipulation Test (PMT), a test involving the manipulation of science materials and equipment. Children were interviewed about what they understand predicting to mean, how they use it at school and at home, and why they think it is important. For each of the seven topics tested, even the youngest children were able to offer predictions. Accuracy varied with the topic, increasing between Grades 1 and 4 and leveling off after that. The increase in skill involved children's growing ability to attend to patterns discerned through their own observations. Four levels in the development of predicting skill, as it relates to particular topics, are described. Children's understanding of predicting showed steady improvement through Grade 6. Children's awareness of their use of predicting at school and at home, and their ability to explain the importance of predicting, also increased through Grades 1 to 6, with a spurt at Grade 4. Children understood predicting to be an internal process in which one uses knowledge to anticipate a future event; they regarded predicting as an important way of being intellectually involved with the world.     

Internet Use Among Middle School Students in School and at Home: What Can We Learn From a U.S.–China Comparison?

Based on data collected from middle school students in a U.S. school (N = 159) and a Chinese school (N = 183), this study compared Internet use in school and at home between American students and Chinese students, explored what affected students’ use of the Internet, and examined how students’ Internet use related to their learning. Results reveal that (a) significant differences in online activities between American students and Chinese students were found in school, but not at home. Further analysis suggests that different pedagogical practices in these two cultural contexts led to the different uses of the Internet in school between American students and Chinese students. (b) There were significant school/home differences in Internet use for American students, but not much school/home difference was found for Chinese students. (c) There were salient similarities between American students and Chinese students in terms of the most popular activities they engaged in online. (d) Internet use in teaching and learning in school had some influence on students’ interest in learning specific subjects.     

Protecting youth online: family use of filtering and blocking software

OBJECTIVE: This paper explores the characteristics associated with decisions to adopt or discontinue the use of filtering software, including a critical analysis of some explanations about why it is used or not used in households with children and adolescents. METHOD: This study consisted of a national telephone survey of households in the United States with youth (10 and 17 years) who use the Internet regularly. Interviews were completed with one youth in the appropriate age group and a parent or caretaker. RESULTS: Thirty-three percent of parents reported using filtering or blocking software, with an additional 5% having discontinued its use within the past year. Parents were more likely to adopt filtering software if they had younger children (10--15 years), a high level of concern about exposure to sexual material on the Internet, more extensive knowledge of what their child did online, low trust in the child's ability to use the Internet responsibly, and if the child used America Online (AOL). Using the Internet for school assignments was associated with not having filtering software. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest the need for (1) evaluation research of filter programs used in a real family context and (2) the development of a variety of strategies to prevent exposure to inappropriate material for youth of different ages.     

Thinking about Art: Could Elementary Textbooks Serve as Models of Practice to Help New Teachers and Non‐Specialists Support Reasoning in Art?

Some primary school teachers may neglect reasoning about art. Models of practice can exemplify classroom teaching and, to some extent, a textbook for children can be seen as a model of practice. Can those in art serve as models of practice and help teachers foster reasoning? This study examined 19 art textbooks intended for use by Key Stage 2 children (7–11 years old) to see to what extent they might direct a teacher's attention to reasoning in art. Some gave no attention to reasoning but some were found to have the potential to do that, at least in connection with evaluating the art of others. In this respect, they might serve as models of practice. Nevertheless, the teachers most likely to benefit from such models may not recognise a good one, be proficient in using it productively, be able to develop thinking about the art of others further or extrapolate thinking to the child's own art. Consequently, knowing what counts in art education and using models of practice to good effect could be an important part of training courses.     

Parental perceptions of gender differences in child technology use and cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is a major health concern for today's youth and a pervasive stressor for adolescents and their families. This study offers qualitative insights into how parents perceive their children's technology use and engagement in cyberbullying based on gender. Eight focus groups were conducted with 48 parents of adolescents ages 10–17. Findings indicated parents perceived their children overuse technology and lack awareness of what cyberbullying is. Specific to gender, parents suggested their daughters use technology for social connection, and parents were more concerned about their daughter's technology use than their son's, which they believed was related to specific interests. In response to cyberbullying scenarios, parents encouraged females but not males to socialize with peers. This is the first qualitative study to obtain an in-depth understanding of the ways in which parents perceive and socialize their children in regard to technology use and cyberbullying scenarios. These results may help school systems, school psychologists, researchers, and parents gain awareness of the gender-stereotypical socialization process that unfolds in parental monitoring of technology use and cyberbullying situations. We conclude by offering suggestions for how school systems and personnel might intervene.     

Futures for Children's Literature: Evolution or radical break?

As electronic media increasingly dominate narratives for children, not merely the form or the content but the very nature of narrative is changing. Future narratives for the 'computer reader', using the Internet and multimedia may seem to be no more nor less than individual, unassessable chaos. But these readers still need to subsist in a linear educational system and teachers will have to negotiate the profound intellectual shift that the mediation between old and new narratives implies. At the most basic level this will involve revising what we mean to be 'literate' and to be a 'good reader'.     

Unserious but Serious Pilgrimages: What Educational Philosophy Can Learn about Fiction and Reality from Children's Artful Play

What happens if we think of children's play as a form of great art that we turn to and return to for inspiration, for education? If we can see play as art, then what and how can we learn from children's play or from playing with them? What can philosophy, or philosophers, learn from children's play? In this essay Viktor Johansson gives examples of what and when children can teach philosophers through play or, more specifically, how children's play can teach philosophers about the relation between fiction and reality. It begins by exploring the educational relation between fiction and reality in recent revivals of literary humanism. Johansson gives examples from a preschool project of how children use fiction picture books and create new fiction in their play, and how they do so in ways that relate to previous philosophical considerations of literary fiction. To explore this, the essay enters into conversation with the work of Iris Murdoch on the playfulness of art. Through, and in contrast to, Murdoch's work, Johansson establishes that play can be great art through its nonpurposefulness and its use of skill and imagination. Moreover, turning to children's play becomes a method for attending to what Ludwig Wittgenstein calls philosophy's “natural history,” that is, a historicization of philosophical thinking that enables philosophers to learn from children. Johansson concludes by showing that encounters between fiction and play, and with children playing, can be an educational embroilment, not only between teacher and child, but between teacher, child, the visual, the material, and the philosophical in which all learn from one another.     

Children's personal learning agendas at home

Ethnographic case studies of nine British working class children were conducted in order to investigate learning from the perspectives of the families. The research aim was to study children learning outside school in situations that were not specifically set up with learning in mind; in social contexts where learning was not an obligation or purpose and was therefore incidental and non‐self‐conscious; and to study children learning in the company of adults who were not professionals. This article does not offer a universal portrait of these children's learning, but a particular way of seeing and interpreting it. The children's home learning is fuelled by social and emotional dimensions. There are multiple competitors for children's attention in any given learning opportunity, and children are not necessarily learning what adults think they are. The children in the study transform the outcomes of their opportunities for learning into learning about their experiences of the human condition.     

What is to be done? Children's ascriptions of conventional obligations

It is often not apparent what people ought to do. Three experiments explored cues that children and adults may use to identify conventional obligations. Experiment 1 addressed the hypothesis that young children identify obligations with expected outcomes. Although preschool-aged (4-5 years) children often expected consistency, they and school-aged (7-8 years) and adult participants indicated that obligations may be at odds with costs and benefits. In Experiment 2, all participants realized that people may have obligations they are unaware of. Preschool-aged children often used information about obligations to identify characters' beliefs. In Experiment 3, preschool but not school-aged children reliably identified obligations with the desires of authorities. The results are discussed in terms of expectations about canonical relations between mental states, outcomes, and obligations.