John Wilson and the Place of Morality in Education

This paper asks whether it would be better not to talk about morality in schools. The issue is raised through a consideration of changes in public discourse and especially in educational discourse, where categories such as ''personal, social and health education'' and ''citizenship education'' are more salient than ''moral education''. Drawing on John Wilson's arguments, the paper considers claims for the indispensability of the concept of morality. It is argued that such claims, in Wilson's own writings, are applied to both an ''individual'' and a ''social'' conception of morality. Contrary to Wilson, the paper argues that the ''wisest strategy'' for public education is to take the social conception of ''morality in the narrow sense'' as a central focus.     

Revisiting Wilson's Moral Components

John Wilson's attempts to identify the key ''components'' of morality have been a familiar part of the moral education landscape for many years. His work, however, has probably not had as much influence on researchers and teachers as might have been expected, and an examination of possible reasons for this may help us to appraise some of the strengths and weaknesses of his approach.     

Review Article: John Wilson as moral educator

Abstract

John Wilson's work as moral educator is summarized and evaluated. His rationalist humanistic approach is based on a componential characterization of the morally educated person. Such a person consistently manifests a unity of reflection, feeling, belief, and acting under the logically structured rubrics of PHIL, EMP, GIG and KRAT, and exemplifying the formal features of ‘moral opinion’. The rationale and conceptual status of the components is discussed, as is the view that the concept of education entails that teachers be moral educators. This involves cultivating autonomous rationality with respect to the unconscious, motivation, day‐to‐day moral decision‐making, and the emotions; in the latter case there are extensive applications in religious education. Finally, certain weaknesses and pre‐eminent strengths of Wilson's position are indicated, and comparisons briefly made with the views of McPhail, Peters, Frankena and Kohlberg.     

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.     

Developing a Measure of Perceived Environmental Risk

Abstract

This study conceptually and empirically develops a scale that measures perceptions of environmental risk (PER). PER is a measure that is different from the measure of environmental knowledge but equally important because people tend to act on their perceptions regardless of whether they are accurate. A reliable and valid assessment of perceived environmental risk is important for environmental education because it will provide a general overview of the present state of perceptions regarding environmental risk, and it will provide measures of specific environmental issues. Therefore, this type of scale either can provide a comprehensive measure for environmental education programs or can measure specific selected items that apply to certain situations or programs, or both. Administrators and teachers could use this scale to indicate the effectiveness of environmental education programs. We define perceptions of environmental risk as a general measurement of risk which assesses the degree to which one perceives danger, peril, or hazards to either self, community, society, or all three, in regard to specific environmental issues. In developing this scale, we used various heterogenous groups across multiple studies to affirm the scale's validity and reliability.     

Rendering Visible: Painting and sexuate subjectivity

Abstract

In this essay, I examine Luce Irigaray’s aesthetic of sexual difference, which she develops by extrapolating from Paul Klee’s idea that the role of painting is to render the non-visible rather than represent the visible. This idea is the premise of her analyses of phenomenology and psychoanalysis and their respective contributions to understanding art and sexual identity. I claim that Irigaray assembles an aesthetic of sexual difference that exceeds these familiar intellectual traditions, one that articulates the encounter of non-visible, material (human and non-human) forces that engender modes of sexuate being and becoming. I further claim that this encounter is the very matter of artistry and art-making.     

Consider the lawyers: Law school's lessons for criminal justice education

For two disciplines interested in similar issues, law schools and criminal justice programs may as well be on different sides of the moon when it comes to pedagogy. Undoubtedly, criminal justice has lessons to share with law, but legal instruction also offers innovations for justice education. The following essay presents my experience from both law school and criminal justice programs, offering recommendations to improve criminal justice teaching. I offer the suggestions not under any brazen notion that I have discovered the secrets to ideal pedagogy, but rather to suggest that many of law's methods would benefit criminal justice as well.     

A Really Useful Link Between Teaching and Research

This paper is an attempt to construct, rather than reveal or discover, a link between research and teaching. The constructed link is offered as one that is pragmatically useful to those in higher education who wish to bring teaching and research more into balance. However, before constructing what I call a really useful link between teaching and research based on the process of inquiry, I look at several ways in which a relationship between the two is currently perceived. These I have called 'a marital relationship', 'an impending divorce' and 'a scholarly relationship'. I also examine Barnett's view of the relationship which he entitles 'a holy alliance'.     

Editorial

The aim of this paper is to reflect upon the ways in which 'sex', as an unchanging biological given, is often implicitly taken for granted in tertiary sex education. The paper details my own attempt to move beyond what I have come to experience as the predictable order of teaching students about sex and sexuality: the exploration of sexuality and gender anchored by the unquestioned assumption of biological sexual difference. I provide a practical example of introducing new material ism in science, and social science critiques of sex, into a tertiary level course. Consideration is given to the importance of fostering critical thinking in education: principally in being open-minded to evidence that challenges one's own belief system.     

Power,Bodies and Identity: How different forms of physical education construct varying masculinities and femininities in secondary schools

Physical education (PE) lessons are an important arena for the construction and consolidation of dominant and subordinate masculinities and femininities within schools. The gym, sports hall, playing field and associated areas such as changing rooms and showers function as sites both for the gendered display of hegemonic forms of heterosexual masculinity and for the subordination of alternatives. Femininities of different sorts are also played out through the acceptance and refusal of different forms of school PE and out-of-school exercise activities. This paper considers how different forms of physical education and sports in schools contribute to the construction and perpetuation of different forms of heterosexual masculinities and femininities. In it I attempt to map Frank's (1991, 1995) ideal types of bodily usage against activities in the male and female traditions of school PE. I look at the gender marking of Frank's ideal types and the corresponding PE, sports and fitness activities and at how the different bodily usages encouraged by different forms of secondary school PE permit and encourage the development of particular masculinities and femininities while discouraging others.     

Repeat missing child reports in Wales

BackgroundThere were approximately 306,000 reports of missing persons in the UK from 2012 to 2013, 64% involved children. Repeat missing incidents account for approximately 38% of reported missing incidences. Within their research Biehal et al. (2003) identified that 70% of missing children had voluntarily left their home and the majority of these were considered to have 'run away'. Research suggests that there is heavy demand on public services in responding to children that are regularly reported missing.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to explore data recorded in respect of children reported missing as a result of running away. The main objective of this study was to develop a set of risk factors to predict repeat missing incidences using a logistic regression method.Participants and settingThis study explored the characteristics of 523 children who were reported missing to Gwent (Wales) Police as a result of running away.MethodsUsing data collected by the Gwent Missing Children's Team in Wales, over a one-year period, this study compared two groups of children: 275 (53%) who were reported missing once ('low risk') and 248 (47%) who were reported more than once ('high risk').ResultsResults indicated that five significant risk factors identified by logistic regression could distinguish outcome in 73% of cases. The five risk factors were; looked after children, substance use, suspected sexual exploitation, known to Youth Offending Services and a history of abuse/neglect.ConclusionsThese risk factors could potentially be used in Gwent to guide intervention strategies, with those children identified as 'high risk' of repeat missing incidents requiring more comprehensive intervention and support.     

Maternal- versus paternal-perpetrated maltreatment and risk for sexual and peer bullying revictimization in young women with depression

BackgroundChildhood maltreatment is one of the strongest predictors of sexual and peer bullying re-victimization. However, it is not clear which types of maltreatment are associated with the greatest risk.ObjectiveThe current study examined the differential relations of maternal- versus paternal-perpetrated emotional maltreatment, neglect, and physical maltreatment, as well as sexual maltreatment, to sexual victimization and peer bullying victimization outside the home. It was hypothesized that paternal-perpetrated emotional maltreatment would be the strongest predictor of later sexual and peer bullying victimization, and that sexual maltreatment would predict sexual re-victimization.Participants and settingParticipants included data from 263 adolescent and young adult women who had previously taken part in one of three larger studies conducted in an academic research setting investigating the relation between stress and depression. All participants had been recruited from the wider community or clinician referral and met criteria for a unipolar depressive disorder.MethodsPsychiatric diagnoses were assessed with a structured diagnostic interview. Childhood maltreatment and victimization were assessed retrospectively with a semi-structured contextual interview that includes standardized ratings.ResultsPaternal-perpetrated emotional abuse was the only maltreatment type that was independently associated with sexual (OR = 3.09, p = .004) and peer bullying (OR = 1.41, p = .05) re-victimization over other forms of maltreatment and indicators of depression severity.ConclusionsThese findings provide an important foundation for future research examining the mechanisms driving the relation between father’s hostility, criticism, and rejection and daughters’ revictimization that can ultimately provide targets for prevention in girls at highest risk.     

Against the corporal punishment of children

John Wilson suggests there are six advantages for corporal punishment: cheap and easy to administer, effective deterrent, effective reform, adjustable pain, fair because of similar dislike of pain, no permanent damage. None of these survive close scrutiny. An alternative, deontological argument against corporal punishment is proposed building on four points Wilson mentions but is dismissive of: assault, attack on a person's self, cannot defend oneself from it, cannot retain one's dignity in the face of it. From this analysis two conclusions are reached: Wilson's case for corporal punishment fails, and there is a sound case for not using corporal punishment. The final section raises a question about Wilson's motivation: why support it if one is against it?     

Shifting from Sexual Orientation to Relational Orientation: A Discursive Move with Theoretical and Pedagogical Benefits

In this article, I argue that the term “sexual orientation” serves as a mechanism for preserving heteronormative hegemony, with the proposed concept of “relational orientation” encouraging a richer theoretical analysis of the factors that shape identity. The relational orientation approach establishes a more holistic representation of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals by granting primacy to romantic partnering choices, as opposed to the traditional emphasis on sexual behavior alone that ultimately functions to derogate this community. Furthermore, the model invites exploration of how the dynamics of all social relationships are profoundly and divergently shaped by one's “orientation.” By promoting greater understanding, this discursive framework offers educators a valuable epistemological and pedagogical tool that has the potential to lead to significant personal and societal transformation.     

The effect of multipart prompts on children's testimonies in sexual abuse investigations

ObjectiveThe current study aimed to explore the frequency and effects of multipart prompts on the testimonies of children who were alleged victims of sexual abuse and were interviewed using the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Investigative Protocol. The effects of the multipart prompts were studied by considering the type of prompt given to the children and examining the richness of the children's testimonies (e.g., the number of words and the number of forensic details) and the ways the children contended with these prompts (e.g., which demand they answered, whether they signaled misunderstanding).Method71 Israeli children aged 4–9 years were interviewed after a complaint of single incident of sexual abuse by a perpetrator who was not a family member. All of the interviews that met the specified criteria and were conducted within a specified period were included in this study. Two raters identified simple versus multipart prompts and analyzed the children's responses.ResultsThe results clearly showed that multipart prompts were used in most interviews, regardless of the child's age. An average of 5.58 multipart prompts per interview was given. The effects of the multipart prompts were destructive and harmed the length and the richness of the children's testimonies. Children of all ages failed to signal their lack of understanding of multipart prompts, and 24% of their responses were unintelligible. When the children did produce a relevant and substantive answer, they primarily responded to the last demand in the multipart prompt and rarely provided an answer to both demands.ConclusionsThe study clearly indicates that even well-trained investigative interviewers present inappropriate multipart prompts to children. The findings contribute to the existing knowledge about the adverse effect that multipart prompts have on children's narratives, indicating that children of all ages provided poorer testimonies in response to multipart prompts. The systematic knowledge accumulated in both laboratory and field studies indicates that it is necessary to eliminate the use of multipart prompts by updating existing practical guidelines and training courses.     

Wilson,Eydie (2013) Serious comix ISTE (Washington & Eurospan,London) isbn 978‐1‐56484‐321‐0 96 pp £27.50 https://www.iste.org/store/product?ID=2444%E2%80%8E

Eydie Wilson's book pleads that struggling secondary learners be encouraged to design on‐screen storyboards as a means of planning various kinds of work. The book is short and—especially at this high price—would benefit from being much better illustrated than it is: in particular, it needs sample learners' work and other forms of case study material. Though clearly written and developed, Serious comix therefore remains dry and shows few signs of the author's passion for its subject. Yet the concept is appealing and has potential: if you think it could have some impact on your work, borrow a copy and see what appeals to you. Eric Deeson     

Childhood abuse and current interpersonal conflict: The role of shame

ObjectiveTo examine whether shame-proneness mediates the relationship between women's histories of childhood sexual abuse and their current partner and family conflict and child maltreatment. Previous research has found that women with childhood sexual abuse histories experience heightened shame and interpersonal conflict. However, research examining the relationship of shame to interpersonal conflict is lacking.MethodParticipants were 129 mothers of children enrolled in a summer camp program for at-risk children from financially disadvantaged families. Data were collected on women's childhood abuse histories, shame in daily life, and current interpersonal conflict involving family conflict, intimate partner conflict (verbal and physical aggression), and child maltreatment.ResultsConsistent with our hypothesis, the results of hierarchical regressions and logistic regression indicated that shame significantly mediated the association between childhood sexual abuse and interpersonal conflict. Women with sexual abuse histories reported more shame in their daily lives, which in turn was associated with higher levels of conflicts with intimate partners (self-verbal aggression and partner-physical aggression) and in the family. Shame did not mediate the relationship between mothers’ histories of sexual abuse and child maltreatment.ConclusionThe role of shame in the intimate partner and family conflicts of women with sexual abuse histories has not been examined. The current findings indicate that childhood sexual abuse was related to interpersonal conflicts indirectly through the emotion of shame.Practical ImplicationsThese findings highlight the importance of investigating the role of shame in the interpersonal conflicts of women with histories of childhood sexual abuse. Healthcare professionals in medical and mental health settings frequently treat women with abuse histories who are involved in family and partner conflicts. Assessing and addressing the links of abused women's shame to interpersonal conflicts could be important in clinical interventions.     

Environmental education

Teachers are under scrutiny as never before. Politicians, parents and pupils invest a great deal of capital in teachers' ability to deliver the goods, notably in terms of national test results. In this essay I challenge the view that a teacher's role and value should be defined solely with respect to measurable outcomes, and argue that the influence of a passionate teacher can be powerful, motivating and even life-transforming for pupils. Teachers' affective influence is neglected at its peril, not least because it provides for considerable personal satisfaction and moral agency.     

Exploring parent sexuality profiles and links with the sexuality profiles of adolescents who have engaged in sexual abuse

BackgroundParents play an important role in children's development of sexual norms and behaviors. Regarding the family environment of adolescents who have engaged in sexual abuse (AESA), some studies have suggested potential factors of interest, although the sexuality of AESA parents has yet to be considered.Objectives(1) Explore sexual profiles among parents, (2) Examine if the sexual profiles of parents are related to the sexual profiles of AESA.Participants and settingParticipants include 201 parents (116 mothers, 85 fathers) of AESA recruited from specialized treatment and youth centers in Quebec.MethodsHierarchical and nonhierarchical methods were used to generate cluster solutions. Chi-square or Fisher's exact tests were then conducted to explore links between parents’ and AESA sexuality profiles.ResultsThree sexuality profiles emerged separately for mothers and fathers, showing similar patterns. Parents in the first two clusters (Overinvested and Atypical Sexuality – OAS and Overinvested and Non-Atypical Sexuality – ONAS) showed greater interest/investment in sexuality and an earlier sexual onset. However, they differed on their sexual interests: Most parents in the OAS cluster reported a greater variety of atypical fantasies and atypical sexual behaviors, while the sexual interests of parents in the ONAS cluster were mainly limited to non-atypical sexuality. Parents in the third cluster (Constrictive Sexuality – CS) were less interested and invested in sexuality. A link between the exacerbated sexuality of mothers (OAS cluster) and of adolescents was also found.ConclusionsThis study represents a first step in showing a potential correspondence between parents’ and AESA sexuality profiles.