The Effects of an Age‐appropriate Intervention on Young Children's Understanding of Inheritance

ABSTRACT The present study explored 4(N = 22) and 7‐year‐olds’ (N = 24) under‐Standing of biological inheritance in cows and horses. An intervention technique adapted from Springer (1995) in which children are taught the basic facts of intrauterine development and birth, in story form, was used in an attempt to improve children's conceptual understanding of inheritance. All children were pre‐tested about inheritance and subsequently half were trained using the intervention (the others were controls). All children were post‐tested within a week of pre‐test, and about 4 weeks later completed delayed post‐tests. Results showed that at pre‐test there were significant age differences in both judgements and explanations of inheritance with 7‐year‐olds exhibiting more sophisticated biological reasoning. Surprisingly, there were no significant improvements for either age in judgements or explanations of inheritance as a function of the intervention at post‐test or delayed post‐test. The findings are discussed with reference to theoretical issues surrounding children's theory of inheritance and the implications for training studies.     

Youth Educators Encounter a Challenge from the Young People— A Frank Dialogue between the Young People of Shekou and Qu Xiao and Li Yanjie

I. In the history of China's youth movement, seldom has there been any model that has created such a deep and long-lasting influence as Lei Feng. The shining example of Lei Feng's thought and ideological commitment had been like a long spiritual river that flowed from agelong heights, and that nurtured the growth of several generations of China's young people. Nonetheless, under the impact of the great wave of commercialist economics, and with the changes in the concept of values among this contemporary generation of young people, the model effect of Lei Feng has, subtly and somewhat imperceptibly, begun to be weakened. Indeed, even in the barracks of the armed forces, those barracks that had given birth to Lei Feng, this glorious standard that once stood for China's youth no longer gives forth the splendor and light that it once did.     

Television: The performance of nonresident students in the “economics U$A” telecourse

Abstract

Correspondence study represents the first and most persistent distance education format in American universities. Later called independent study, it enabled universities to disseminate instruction far beyond their campuses. Yet, national‐level leadership provided by the National University Continuing Education Association (NUEA) and its divisions has been relatively restrained. In contrast, leadership in the private correspondence school sector has been assertive, and sometimes even aggressive. The NUEA and its members shunned this approach, choosing instead to lead by persuasion and example. The NUEA developed standards of practice concerned primarily with replicating on‐campus teaching styles and values, rather than the promotion of distance education. With the abolition of its division structure, the NUEA's successor, the University Continuing Education Association (UCEA), has opted out of a leadership role in independent study. This paper concludes that the NUEA's initial attempt at leadership in distance education— while reasoned and principled—contained flaws that made failure inevitable.     

Young People,Biblical Narrative and “Theologizing”: A UK Perspective

Religious Education is a curriculum subject provided as entitlement for all students in UK public schools. Biblical narratives appear for every student age group, usually in Christian studies modules. The Biblos research project was founded to investigate how biblical narrative might be taught with integrity in public schools in a society labelled variously post-Christian, post-modern, plural, and secular. It has completed four phases of life, summarized in this article. Particular attention is given to the most recent research that sets student attitudes toward biblical narrative against their familial and cultural background. Consideration is given to what it means for students actively to engage with biblical narrative and therefore to “theologize” for themselves.     

Avoiding the Perils of “Teacher-Proof” Online Design: A Content Analysis

This content analysis explored how previously validated Web-based inquiries (WBIs) for science instruction are designed and to what extent they match the proposed teacher-support guidelines of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Examined WBIs implemented few recommended teacher-support mechanisms. This article explores the reasons why so few mechanisms were supported and proposes ways to enhance the curricular usefulness of WBIs by incorporating more recommended mechanisms.     

Primary Children's Perspectives on the World of Work: A Cross‐Cultural Comparison

Abstract

This paper presents a ‘political arithmetic’ of women in post‐ compulsory education and training in Wales, illustrating that, although there has been some ‘catching up’ in participation and qualifications achieved, essentially education and training systems are reinforcing the highly rigid pattern of gender segregation that characterises the Welsh labour force. Wales is in danger of consolidating its position as a low wage low skill economy unless this situation is addressed. Changes in the administrative frame work of post‐compulsory education and training in Wales allows the opportunity to develop such a strategy, but so far the main actors in the field appear to be taking a ‘gender‐neutral’ stance.     

The Surveillance of Women on Reality Television: Watching “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette”

BRITISH CULTURAL STUDIES: AN INTRODUCTION. By Graeme Turner. New York: Routledge, 1992; pp. 246. $39.95; paper $14.95.

CRUSOE'S FOOTPRINTS: CULTURAL STUDIES IN BRITAIN AND AMERICA. By Patrick Brantlinger. New York: Routledge, 1990; xi, pp. 212. $39.50; paper $13.95.

CULTURE STUDIES AS CRITICAL THEORY. By Ben Agger. Bristol, PA: The Falmer Press, 1992; vii, pp. 217. $77.00; paper $26.50.

TELEVISION, AUDIENCES AND CULTURAL STUDIES. By David Morley. New York: Routledge, 1992; viii, pp. 325. $69.95; paper $16.95.

THE POLITICS OF PICTURES: THE CREATION OF THE PUBLIC IN THE AGE OF POPULAR MEDIA. By John Hartley. New York: Routledge, 1992; xiii, pp. 247. $69.95; paper $16.95.     

“Unpacking my Library”: Children's Literature in the Writings of Walter Benjamin

In recentyears as the works of Walter Benjamin, the German‐Jewish cultural critic and philosopher, have become more widely available in translation commentaries have emerged which focus on what his writings have to offer current practices of cultural history. Benjamin was an avid collector of children's books. He also wrote extensively on children's literature, forgotten children's stories, the compulsion and cultures of book collecting and about his own childhood experiences in Berlin. This essay concerns itself with Benjamin's relationship with children's literature, both a child and as a collector, and his insights into the process of engaging with the internal world of the child. In doing so consideration is given to his innovative approach to memory‐work and the relationship between “remembering”, memory, artefacts and history. In this sense, this essay is about the book and education and the writing of cultural history.

     

“Hurt People,Hurt People”: The Trauma of Juvenile Incarceration

The Urban Review - While approximately one in three youths are identified by juvenile probation officers as needing mental health services, researchers estimate that between 67 and 90% of detained...     

The Swiss “Tina Fey Effect”: The Content of Late-Night Political Humor and the Negative Effects of Political Parody on the Evaluation of Politicians

This article investigates the content and effects of political humor on late-night television. Besides conducting a systematic content analysis of a Swiss late-night show, this article examines the effects of late-night political parody on competence evaluations of politicians. An experiment manipulated the televised parody of a politician and measured political knowledge. Results show that exposure to a televised political parody decreased competence ratings of politicians only for individuals high in political knowledge. The reason is that viewers must already have an understanding of current political affairs to “get the joke”—that is, the implicit message transported by the parody. The implications of such a negative “Tina Fey Effect” are discussed.     

Impact of Contact With Grandparents on Children's and Adolescents’ Views on the Elderly

Stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination against the elderly (ageism) may manifest themselves in children at an early age. However, the factors influencing this phenomenon are not well known. Using both explicit and open-ended questions, this study analyzed the influence of personal and familial parameters on the views of 1,151 seven- to sixteen-year-old Belgian children and adolescents on the elderly. Four factors were found to affect these views: gender (girls had slightly more positive views than boys), age (ageism was lowest in 10- to 12-year-old, reminiscent of other forms of stereotypes and cognitive developmental theories), grandparents’ health, and most importantly, quality of contact with grandparents (very good and good contacts correlated with more favorable feelings toward the elderly, especially in children with frequent contacts).     

A Critique of the Stem Pipeline: Young People’s Identities in Sweden and Science Education Policy

In this article, we develop critiques of the pipeline model which dominates Western science education policy, using discourse analysis of interviews with two Swedish young women focused on ‘identity work’. We argue that it is important to unpack the ways that the pipeline model fails to engage with intersections of gender, ethnicity, social class and nationality, and their impact on science and with debates about science as elitist and implicated in neoliberalism.     

Becoming Badass: Teaching Katz’s “Ways of the Badass” using the Breaking Bad Television Series

Becoming badass is a phenomenological process where meaningful social interactions develop one’s sense of authority over others. Some of the key features of this process, according to Katz, include an ability to transcend moral injunctions, ability to intimate aggression, an inability to be influenced by others, development and display of an ominous character, a strong disregard for self-preservation, and the development of an alien identity. The main character in the Breaking Bad television series is used as a conduit to exemplify these key elements of becoming badass. Examples from the series illustrate the sensual appeal of criminal involvement from the perspective of the one doing crime.     

Content not form predicts oral language comprehension: the influence of the medium on preschoolers’ story understanding

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of digital and non-digital storybooks on low-income preschoolers’ oral language comprehension. Employing a within-subject design on 38 four-year-olds from a Head Start program, we compared the effect of medium on preschoolers’ target words and comprehension of stories. Four digital storybooks were adapted and printed for read-alouds. Children were randomly read two stories on the digital platform, and two by the assessors. Following the story, children completed vocabulary and comprehension tasks, and a brief motivation checklist. We found no significant differences across medium; children comprehended equally well regardless of whether the story was read digitally or in person. However, using repeated ANOVA measures, we found a significant main effect of the story read. This research indicates that the content of the book rather than its form predicts story comprehension. Implications for using digital media in the preschool years are discussed.     

Educational Television: “Let's Explore Science”

This study provides a historical overview of the development of the instructional television as a tool within the context of science education. The technology was traced from its beginning as experiments in public service broadcasting by universities and television networks, though closed circuit, cable, and commercially produced science-related programming. The use of the technology as a teaching tool is examined in terms of the concept of scientific literacy and the means by which instructional television helped to accomplish the goals of scientific literacy.     

“Hell is Other People”: the Interpretation of Inter-human Relationship in AClockwork Orange from the Perspective of Existentialism

Anthony Burgess’s novel A Clockwork Orange explores human being’s predicament of freedom—the contradiction between Libertarianism and Totalitarianism. The issues Burgess explores in this fiction share affinities with what Sartrean existentialism elucidate. This paper attempts to discuss the inter-human relationship between the protagonist—Alex and other two important characters from the perspective of Sartre’s elaboration of "being-with-others", to find the evidence for Sartre’s famous dictum "hell is the other people."     

Fragmented People in the Fragmented Country in Midnight's Children:Viewed from the Perspective of “Fragmentation”

In Midnight's Children,frequently seen are the words like"hole","segment","crack",and the damage and loss of bodily function such as amnesia,which is called a"phenomenon of fragmentation"in this paper.In terms of the phenomenon,the characters of three generations in Midnight's Children are analyzed.It is found that colonial culture exerts a long-lasting impact on its colonized people,under whose influence generations of colonized people find it hard to negotiate their dual cultural identities.This happened to India.Postcolonial Indians had fragmented identities.Furthermore,the phenomenon also reflects that India was a fragmented nation,whose nationals desired peace,unity,and prosperity.     

Children's understanding of the additive composition of number and of the decimal structure: what is the relationship?

Nunes and Bryant (Children doing mathematics, Blackwell, Oxford, 1996) proposed that an understanding of the additive composition of number could be a precursor to an understanding of the decimal structure. If this is so, children should achieve an understanding of additive composition before they can handle the decimal structure. The aim of our study was to determine the developmental timing of these two forms of mathematical understanding. 5- and 6-year-old children each completed both an addition task and Terezinha Carraher's (In: Streefland, L. (Ed.), Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, vol. 1. Research Group on Mathematics Education and Computer Centre, State University of Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands, 1985, pp. 288–303) shop task, with concrete materials. The addition task tested an understanding of additive composition by measuring whether children used a counting-all or counting-on strategy to add two quantities. The shop task tested an understanding of the decimal structure by investigating whether or not children could successfully combine tens and ones in producing a given amount of money. Our results suggest that learning about the decimal structure enhances children's understanding of the general principle of additive composition.     

A Brief Statement on Educational Principle of the People＇s Republic of China

China issued two educational principles in 1960s and 1990s respectively. Both are composed of three fundamental elements-general aim of education, concrete purposes of education and ways of realizing them. Both emphasize the combination of education and work as well as the all-round development of the educatee. The difference between the two is that the former stipulates that education should serve the proletarian politics and education of laboring people while the latter provides that education should serve the socialist modernization and cultivation of builders and successors of socialism.