Effects of Spatial Scale on Cognitive Play in Preschool Children

This study examines the effects of a scale-reduced play environment on temporal aspects of play behavior. Specifically, it examines the amount of time required to enter complex forms of play, the length of play segments, and the percentage of total play time spent in complex play under normal environmental conditions (full-size, control) and under scale-reduced environmental conditions (experimental). Eleven subjects (mean age of 4 years 2 months) were observed during unstructured play activity with playdough in a small-n, A-B-A-B design. Subjects served as their own controls and were self-motivated relative to the activity. The play structure (scale-reduced environment) consisted of a screened wooden frame 7' (L) x 5' (W) x 5' (H) over a vinyl floor. Results indicate subjects enter complex forms of play more quickly, engage in play segments of longer duration and tend to spend a slightly greater percentage of their overall play time in complex play under experimental conditions, as hypothesized. This study suggests attention span and information processing may be affected by the scale of the play environment. : -.     

Playing Social Chess: Children's play and social intelligence

Humans live in complex social environments. By the time they reach adulthood, most people have developed highly sophisticated social skills, including the ability to infer the 'invisible' mental states in others, and to act upon those inferences; they have become experts at 'social chess'. This paper draws upon research from developmental and evolutionary psychology, primatology, as well as studies of autistic children, to explore the processes by which children acquire the complex skills underpinning social interaction. It also examines obstacles to social skill acquisition. In light of ethological studies of social play in humans and other primates, it is argued that play is a fundamental medium for acquiring social skills.     

The ecology of role play: Intentionality and cultural evolution

This study examines the evolutionary function of children's pretence. The everyday, cultural environment that children engage with is of a highly complex structure. Human adaptation, thus, becomes, by analogy, an equally complex process that requires the development of life skills. Whilst in role play children engage in ‘mimesis’ and recreate the ecology of their world in order to gradually appropriate its structures. Role play enables them to create their group cultures, through which they communally explore and assign meaning to their worlds and themselves in it. The research took place in a Greek state school and employed participant and non‐participant observation of the children's role play sessions. The findings, grouped under four thematic categories, may reflect the players’ adaptation and evolutionary processes but also the expression of their deeply rooted, existential concerns at that particular stage of their development.     

Productions of space: Civic participation of young people at university

Civic participation of young people around the world is routinely described in deficit terms, as they are labelled apathetic, devoid of political knowledge, disengaged from the community and self‐absorbed. This paper argues that the connectivity of time, space and social values are integral to understanding the performances of young people as civic subjects. Today's youth negotiate unstable social, economic and environmental conditions, new technologies and new forms of community. Loyalty, citizenship and notions of belonging take on new meanings in these changing global conditions. Using the socio‐spatial theories of Lefebvre and Foucault and the tools of critical discourse analysis this paper argues that the chronotope, or time/space relationship of universities, produces student citizens who, in resistance to a complex global society, create a cocooned space, which focuses on moral and spiritual values that can be enacted on a personal level.     

The effects of extraneous speech on visual vigilance performance of children

First-grade males performed a 30-min visual vigilance task under 5 conditions of auditory background stimulation. The 5 conditions consisted of (1) continuous conversation, in which subjects listened to a tape of conversation spliced so that there were no intervals of silence lasting longer than 3 sec; (2) continuous reverse, in which subjects heard the continuous conversation tape played in reverse; (3) intermittent conversation, in which subjects heard alternating segments of conversation and silence; (4) intermittent reverse, in which subjects heard alternating segments of reverse conversation and silence; and (5) silence control. Compared with silence or continuous stimulation, intermittent stimulation produced better detection regardless of whether or not it was meaningful. High achievers made more correct detections than low achievers, but only in the second and third time periods. Few subjects made errors of commission.     

Teaching in Higher Education

The essay has been called the 'default genre' in high school and university education. This paper examines the nature, history and function of the essay in this role, including feminist critiques of the genre. It explores in particular the dialogic or multi-voiced character of most academic essays, and suggests that it is through dialogic structuring that new forms of academic writing might be generated. Excerpts from five student essays, and other forms of coursework and examination work are studied. The paper suggests that the handing in of essays and their role in the assessment of student performance is an elaborate game that students and teachers/lecturers have to learn to play well in order for both sides to enjoy and gain from the experience; it also concludes that it is time to recognise more formally the diverse forms of student expression as valid contributions to the demonstration of emerging knowledge.     

Motives and circumstances: Occupational-change experiences of prospective late-entry teachers

Faced with a shrinking teacher work force, some nations are increasingly turning to adults who enter teaching from other fields. Using a variant of the life history method, this study examines employment patterns and career motives of a sample of 40 prospective late-entry teachers. As in prior research, subjects report being drawn primarily by teaching's intrinsic rewards. Wider variation was found, however, in the circumstances under which they left their previous occupations, with socioeconomic concerns and self-fulfillment accounting for most such decisions. Implications are considered for teacher recruitment and other policy issues.     

Supporting students' learning with multiple representations in a dynamic simulation-based learning environment

In this study, the effects of different types of support for learning from multiple representations in a simulation-based learning environment were examined. The study extends known research by examining the use of dynamic representations instead of static representations and it examines the role of the complexity of the domain and the learning environment. In three experimental conditions, the same learning environment, that of the physics topic of moments, was presented with separate, non-linked representations (S-NL condition), with separate, dynamically linked representations (S-DL condition), and with integrated, dynamically linked representations (I-DL condition). The learning environment was divided into low complexity and high complexity parts. Subjects were 72 students from middle vocational training (aged 16–18). Overall, the I-DL condition showed the best learning performance. Subjects in the I-DL condition, compared to the S-NL condition, showed better learning results on posttest items measuring domain knowledge. A trend in favor of the I-DL condition compared to the S-NL condition was found on posttest items measuring subjects' ability to translate between different representations. A subjective measure of experienced difficulty showed that subjects in the I-DL condition experienced the learning environment as easiest to work with. The complexity of the learning environment and domain interacted with the effects of the experimental conditions. Differences between conditions were only found on the test items that corresponded to the high complexity part of the learning environment.     

The educational experiences of Australian high school dropouts who return to school

This research examines the experiences of Australian high school dropouts once they have re‐entered high school. Using a survey in three Australian states of 1,233 re‐enterers aged 15 to 24 years it examines their enrolment process, their educational experiences, their difficulties and concerns, and their perceptions of services provided in the new educational institution they re‐enter. The data show that the majority of re‐enterers are enrolled in innovative high schools. Almost half are enrolled in Grade 12, are full‐time and attend day classes only. They are most frequently enrolled in four to six subjects; English, Maths and Science are the most popular. Reentry students generally hold quite positive attitudes to existing forms of assessment and credentials, and hold moderately positive attitudes towards their institution. Most re‐entry students believe they are working hard and performing well, and are confident of future success in their studies. They believe that their institution is supportive of their attempts to return to study, and regard their institution's services and facilities as good, rather than excellent. Implications are discussed for the quality of re‐entry students’ educational experience aimed at optimizing their satisfaction, performance and persistence     

“十四五”时期高等教育的 发展环境与高校的战略选择

“十四五”时期我国高等教育整体进入普及化发展新阶段,外部环境与需求基础将发生深刻变化,国际竞争新形势和国内发展新趋势都对高等教育提出新要求。“十四五”时期高校发展必须紧扣国家战略和社会需求,把握世界趋势和高等教育发展方向,基于自身细分市场确立核心竞争力,努力实现从“大而全”到“专精特”的战略转变,在促进国家与社会的发展中实现自身的高质量发展。     

The art of self-concretization as a necropolitical embodiment: The self-immolation of Chun Tae-il

This essay examines Chun Tae-il's self-immolation as an exemplar that showcases how a life deprived of public appearance can enter the public sphere through the willful destruction of one's body. Far from being a strange and curious deviation, self-immolation, I argue, is a necropolitical form of public embodiment for those who have been marginalized and excluded from the space of appearance. Chun Tae-il's self-immolation illustrates that there is an alternative form of self-suspension practiced by subaltern subjects: the art of self-concretization. While all subjects of publicity are required to bracket their self-interests when entering the public realm, Chun Tae-il's self-immolation indicates that the entrance fee for minoritized subjects can be life itself, thus epitomizing the limit condition of self-purgation in the public realm.     

Technology‐loving Luddites? Declining participation in high school computing studies in Australia

The research discussed in this article is based on an Australian Research Council‐funded study carried out over three years (2005–2007) in three states ¹ 1. New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia View all notes in Australia. The study sought to understand students’ experiences and decisions at secondary school to ascertain why few girls choose to enter tertiary‐level Communication and Information Technology (CIT) courses, and what strategies could be implemented in schools to remedy this problem. The results suggest that while boys still tend to dominate the higher levels of CIT subjects in Australian high schools across the three states, there was also a general decline in participation at all levels. Drawing on qualitative and quantitative data, the article examines patterns and explanations regarding the nature of participation in CIT subjects. The article develops a Luddite analysis in order to understand the strong rejection of this area of study in the three Australian states.     

Influences and Experiences Affecting the Pro‐environmental Behaviour of Educators

This paper examines the relative importance of various categories of influence and formative life experiences on the development of environmental educators’ knowledge and concern for the environment. The authors analyse the ways in which the importance of influences may change through time or be affected by the subject's age. Conclusions are drawn and discussed, including the crucial role of the family and of childhood experiences outdoors in promoting the development of concern for the environment and pro‐environmental adult behaviour.     

The Perplexity of Sponsored Environment Education: a critical view on Hong Kong and its future

This study critically examines Hong Kong's environmental education initiatives beyond schooling in the last 5 years with reference to the engagement of environmental non‐governmental organisations (NGOs) in this process under an emerging sponsorship regime. It highlights that the manifested form and mode of environmen‐talism in general and environmental education in particular are embedded within the socio‐political context of colonial governance, the proliferation of green ideas and the local adaptation of ideas of environmental education. It is observed and argued that environmental education programmes in the last 5 years, promoted mainly in the mass media domain, have been partially successful in changing people's perception on environmental affairs, but environmental groups' autonomy is questioned under a sponsorship regime. The paper ends with remarks on the future of environmental education under a new political regime in 1997 and beyond.     

大类培养模式下大学生专业学习热情变化的发生机制——基于情感社会学视角的个案研究

大学生的专业学习热情不仅关乎个人发展,也关乎各行各业专业人才供给数量和质量。以某“双一流”建设高校工科平台本科生小鑫的专业学习热情变化故事为切入点,结合情感社会学视角和16位大类平台本科生的访谈资料,探究大类培养背景下大学生专业学习热情变化的发生机制。研究发现：大学生的专业学习热情受到其学习期望与体验一致性的直接驱动;自我核心认知与情感是影响学生期望和学习情境定义的内在动力;学习情境是激发学生学习期望和学习情境定义的外部因素;防御机制的激活状态进一步影响学生的专业学习热情。未来,可重点从重视生涯发展与规划教育、优化专业分流及配套方案、建立学生学习情绪台账等方面激发大学生专业学习热情。     

Environmental education scholarship in a 'marketised' setting: A case study in a university environmental education programme

For more than a decade the traditional roles of universities and the traditional and conventional views of scholarship (academic work) have been called into question. These shifts in the academe have led to the introduction of various forms of practice, which has often resulted in conflicting viewpoints and tensions. Restructuring in higher education in South Africa (as elsewhere) has been linked to global, social and economic trends and a general decrease in revenue for universities from state sources (Jansen, 2001; Mora & Villarreal, 2001). This has forced universities into an entrepreneurial culture which has had far reaching implications for the work of academics. This has led to conflict between intrinsic work motivation and working towards extrinsic reward systems. In this paper we describe a university-based case study which demonstrates how a practice of scholarship in environmental education can be in conflict with conventions related to the construct of scholarship at institutional and broader academic levels in a 'marketised' environment. In terms of our experience we argue for a broader view of scholarship which focuses on more than 'brownie points' and 'bean counts' and includes service rendered to various academic communities as indicators for scholarly practice and scholarship in environmental education.     

Conceptions and awareness concerning environmental education: a Zimbabwean case‐study in three secondary teacher education colleges

This article reports on a baseline survey, designed to collect information on students' and teachers' conceptions on environmental issues and their involvement in three Zimbabwean colleges of secondary teacher training. The survey was the first step of a research programme designed to evaluate the Secondary Teacher Training Environmental Education Programme (St²eep). It was found that students perceive the environment mainly in terms of biophysical issues whereas teachers also relate the environment to social, economic and political issues. Both students and teachers of environment‐related subjects are significantly more concerned about the environment and are more involved than their fellow students and colleagues of other subjects. Environment‐related subjects are seen as most suitable for inclusion of environmental education by the respondents.     

Peer interaction effects in the activation of categorical concepts

This study was aimed at investigating the effects of social interaction in a task involving the utilization of categorical concepts by 7- and 9-year-olds from two contrasting socio-economic backgrounds (upper class and lower class). The task, presented as a guessing game, was performed under two experimental conditions: an individual condition (one subject alone asked his/her partner questions) and a dyadic condition (two subjects formulated questions together to ask two other partners). In both experimental conditions, the «questioned» subjects answered «yes» or «no» to their partner’s (or partners’) questions. Two pre-test and post-test tasks (a nonmember task and a similarity task) involving the same categorical concepts as the training tasks were set up to assess the effects of training condition and socio-economic background on progress. An untrained group of subjects served as the control group. The results showed that the experimental setup was very beneficial for all subjects, regardless of what kind of training they had undergone (individual or dyadic) and what background they came from. These findings provide evidence of the effectiveness of the social regulation at work in both of these experimental conditions (yes/no feedback) for a task where the socially-defined goal to be attained by the subjects is represented in an unambiguous manner.     

Historical memory and the importance of the Bracero Project in the struggles of trabajadores migrantes today

The author undertook a field study at the Centro de los Trabajadores Agrvcolas Fronterizos (Center for Border Agricultural Workers, or CTAF) in El Paso, Texas, while she was a student on the Border Studies Program in the fall of 2000. This ethnography treats the theme of the connections between institutionalized racism and the suppression of historical memory, with specific reference to the Bracero Program. It also examines what roles ''outsiders'' can play in progressive political movements.