Looking Backward at Science Writing

Abstract

Different environmental education programs (field trips, hiking, camps, adventure activities) aim to develop pupils' affective relationship to the natural environment, their environmental sensitivity, and outdoor behavior, as well as their social relationships, through personal experiences. This study discusses the results of experiences from outdoor activities involving 11- and 12-year-old pupils in Rovaniemi and Vaasa, Finland. The qualitative research methods comprised case studies involving questionnaires, individual interviews, drawings, photographs of landscapes, and participant observations during camps. Nature experiences developed the pupils' self-confidence and feelings of safety, in particular, which in turn increased their willingness to participate in future outdoor activities. In this way, nature began to have new meanings for them on a personal level. Comparing pupils who were experienced in outdoor activities with pupils who were not, it was found that the former seemed to have a strong and clearly definable empathic relationship to nature. They also exhibited better social behavior and higher moral judgements. The reasons for conflicts between environmental attitudes and action, still observable in some experienced boys of the Vaasa group, are discussed in terms of conscious vs. unconscious action and applied knowledge. The role and possibilities of outdoor education in environmental education and natural studies are emphasized for schools as well as for teacher education.     

Implementation of Educational Provision for Children with Severe to Profound Intellectual Disability in the Western Cape: From Rights to Reality

Children with severe to profound intellectual disability have been excluded from education on the basis that their impairment makes them ‘ineducable’. The Western Cape Forum for Intellectual Disability challenged this notion through litigation against the South African Government. The ensuing judgement asserts the right to education of these children and outlines action steps for government to this end. We describe the actions taken by the Western Cape Education Department in responding to the requirements of the court by means of a document review. We then reflect on the implementation process, highlighting key learning points of relevance for others engaged in implementation. We note critical factors to be considered for the child, their families, special care centres, and the broader educational and legal systems. We conclude by outlining important considerations for the inclusion of these children within the education system in South Africa.     

试论“行动研究”的系统性

我国教育研究中长期存在总理论与实践脱节的问题。而行动研究强调研究者和实践者共同参与研究并以改善社会行动为目的，从而成为“实践联结理论”的中介。作为一个较完备的科学研究方法体系，行动研究具有系统性。这一特征要求在开展行动研究中更具全局观，对研究中各因素和各环节进行统筹安排，以实现行动研究的最优结果。     

Rituale im Grundschulalter: Performativität,Mimesis und Interkulturalität

Rituals in Primary School Age – Performativity, mimesis and interculturality. Rituals and ritualization play a central role in the upbringing, education and socialization of children at primary school age. They structure children’s lives and support their integration into the social order in a constructive manner. Rituals shape transitions between fields of socialization and institutions, and facilitate social learning, which is important both in lessons and more generally at school. Due to their performativity, pedagogic processes act just like rituals and ritualization in all fields of social action. How children stage (or perform) their behaviour and actions, whether alone or together with adults, can be seen as the performativity of actions. Important aspects of cultural learning at primary school age occur as mimetic processes. In this, pictures, schemes, the expectations of others, of social situations, occurrences and actions are incorporated into an individual’s “world” of mental pictures. This practical knowledge enables children to learn and act together, to live and to exist. In view of Globalization and Europeanization, upbringing and education have become an intercultural task, for which rituals, ritualization, pedagogic and social gestures, the performativity of social practices and mimetic forms of learning play an important role. Ethnography and qualitative methods are appropriate for investigating rituals and ritualization, the performativity of pedagogic practices, of mimetic processes and intercultural education processes. Amongst the most important methods, which are complementary and, where possible, should be combined, are participative observation, video-supported observation, video performance and photograph analysis, interviews and group discussions. With the help of this method-mix, attempts can be made to capture complex and methodologically transparent research results.     

学生品德“知行不一”现象及应对策略

小学生的道德意志薄弱,自控能力水平低,道德行为缺乏坚持性,极容易受到各种因素的影响。"知行不一"的现象在小学生道德品质形成过程中时有出现,教师应该针对小学生的特点,在课堂内外锻炼他们的道德意志,促进学生良好道德品质的形成。     

Function and Content of Maternal Demands: Developmental Significance of Early Demands for Competent Action

The sources and effects of mothers' demands upon children were examined during naturalistic interactions of 70 mothers and their 1 1/2–3 1/2-year-olds. Demands were categorized in terms of immediate function (e.g., do's vs. don'ts) and content area emphasized by mothers (e.g., competent action, appropriate behavior, caretaking). Children's age and oppositional behavior influenced the nature of mothers' demands. Mothers with authoritative child-rearing attitudes emphasized proactive, competence-oriented demands and avoided regulatory controls. Maternal demands for competent action (prosocial behavior, chores, cognitive/play) predicted enhanced compliance and fewer behavior problems at age 5. Demands focused on the regulation of personal and social behavior predicted more behavior problems at age 5. We propose that children's personal and social competence emerges from pressures for instrumentally competent behavior in a harmonious interactive context.     

Lexical Principles May Underlie the Learning of Verbs

To examine whether children (mean age 34 months) can fast map and extend novel action labels to actions for which they do not already have names, the comprehension of familiar and novel verbs was tested using colored drawings of Sesame Street characters performing both familiar and unfamiliar actions. Children were asked to point to the character "verbing," from among sets of 4 drawings. With familiar words and actions, children made correct choices 97% of the time. With novel action words, children performed at levels mostly significantly above chance, selecting a previously unlabeled action or another token of a just-names action. In a second, control experiment children were asked to select an action from among the same sets of 4 drawings, but they were not given a novel action name. Here children mainly demonstrated performance at levels not significantly different from chance, showing that the results from the main experiment were attributable to the presence of a word in the request. Results of these studies are interpreted as support for the availability of principles to ease verb acquisition.     

Preschool teachers communicating values to children

This empirical study aims to find if and how preschool teachers communicate values they consider important for children to learn in preschool. The study is a part of a Nordic research project on values education in Nordic preschools. Values are understood as desirable principles that guide human actions. Theoretically, the study draws on a sociocultural perspective and Habermas’ theory of communicative action. The data consists of approximately 17?h of video observations of communication between preschool teachers and children. Two episodes were chosen for further analysis and in-depth discussion. Care, respect, and discipline had been agreed on as important values to communicate to preschool children. The preschool teachers used different approaches to communicate these values, depending on their professional and personal backgrounds. The values were communicated implicitly rather than explicitly. The study contributes to research on values education in the ECE and gives reasons for reflection on the practices of preschool teachers.     

Education--a joint task for parents,kindergarten teachers and kindergarten student teachers

The aim of this research was to find out what kindergarten teachers, parents and kindergarten student teachers think about education and about themselves as educators. The basic question was: what kind of similarities and differences are there between these groups of educators? The sample consisted of 21 parents, 28 kindergarten teachers and 37 kindergarten student teachers voluntarily taking part in the study. The data were collected using thematic interviews and an open-ended questionnaire. The approach used to analyse the material was phenomenography. The results show that the groups of educators between themselves had quite similar conceptions of education and of being educators of small children. However, some differences were also found. The division of the conceptions of education was: education as a societal function or socialization, education as a way of supporting a child's development, education as care, and education as work and action. All groups, but especially parents, regarded education primarily as a societal function. All three groups paid rather little attention to education as a function of becoming a human being. Education as a function of care occurred in the conceptions of some educators. The conceptions of being an educator were linked to characteristic features of educators, to working with children, to commitment and self-confidence at work and to demands on and responsibility of an educator. In particular, parents paid attention to the demands and responsibility of being an educator. Kindergarten teachers and kindergarten student teachers emphasized working with children and commitment to education.     

A comparison between children's physical activity levels at school and learning in an outdoor environment

Physical activity levels were measured with an accelerometer in a case study including 19 children, from nine to ten years of age, in a Danish primary school. The teachers conducted their teaching in a forest every Thursday from 2000 to 2003. The purpose of this study was to measure the students' activity levels during outdoor learning days in the forest and compare them with a traditional school day on the one hand, and a traditional school day including two physical education lessons, on the other. The mean activity levels were more than twice as high on the forest days measured on two occasions. Expressed in percentages, winter (2000) measurements were 106% (range 14–194%), and summer (2001) measurements were 113% (range 41–224%) higher compared to traditional school days. Furthermore, in 2002 the mean activity level measured on a day including two physical education lessons was equal to a day in an outdoor environment. In conclusion, this case study demonstrates a significantly higher level of physical activity when indoor and outdoor learning contexts are combined. From a physical health perspective outdoor learning is recommended in the folkeskole.     

A comparison between children's physical activity levels at school and learning in an outdoor environment

Physical activity levels were measured with an accelerometer in a case study including 19 children, from nine to ten years of age, in a Danish primary school. The teachers conducted their teaching in a forest every Thursday from 2000 to 2003. The purpose of this study was to measure the students' activity levels during outdoor learning days in the forest and compare them with a traditional school day on the one hand, and a traditional school day including two physical education lessons, on the other. The mean activity levels were more than twice as high on the forest days measured on two occasions. Expressed in percentages, winter (2000) measurements were 106% (range 14-194%), and summer (2001) measurements were 113% (range 41-224%) higher compared to traditional school days. Furthermore, in 2002 the mean activity level measured on a day including two physical education lessons was equal to a day in an outdoor environment. In conclusion, this case study demonstrates a significantly higher level of physical activity when indoor and outdoor learning contexts are combined. From a physical health perspective outdoor learning is recommended in the folkeskole.     

Three theses on teaching and learning in higher education

In our article, we explore the possibility of formulating theses about teaching as one way to use research as a basis for educational action. The theses are formulated from current educational research on teaching and learning in higher education. We also explore the potential for action and the consequences derived from the theses. With our theses, we criticise less complex ways of using research for educational purposes. Through theses we can suggest directions for action without prescribing certain methods or procedures and provide answers without reducing the teachers' possibilities for choice or diminishing their responsibility for their actions. Our exploration is an invitation to a collaborative exploration of theses on teaching and learning in order to broaden and deepen our shared basis for educational action.     

‘It's good for their self-esteem’: the substance beneath the label

This paper provides an informed and critical understanding of the concept of self-esteem. It explores this psychological construct in relation to its use in adventure education and outdoor learning. Enhancing a participant's self-esteem is perceived to be fundamentally a good thing and is culturally linked to the Hahnian notion that implies outdoor education is good for character-building and more recently personal development. This paper suggests that the improvement of self-esteem has become a reified programme outcome as well as an argument for the value and importance of outdoor education programmes. In this paper I seek to address the often uncritical and at times evangelical claim that outdoor programmes enhance self-esteem. This paper looks at the development of self-esteem generally and then considers its appearance in the outdoor education literature. Aspects of this that relate to outdoor learning and adventure education include: development of the self, behaviour, disaffected young people, recent UK developments and common misconceptions regarding self-esteem. These are explored and their implications for practice and research are considered. The essence of this paper is that outdoor educators need to be more critical, informed and specific about exactly what it is they are trying to achieve, how their programmes are evaluated, particularly with outcomes that are related to potential changes in ‘self’ and how these changes are measured.     

儿童音乐教育功能初探

音乐教育有利于儿童健康人格的全面发展,有助于启发儿童的创造性思维,有助于培养儿童的规则意识,有助于儿童的语言和良好情感的发展,并对儿童成长具有一定的社会效应和现实意义。每个教师都应该重视儿童音乐教育的功能性特征,有意识地满足当今儿童对音乐教育的需求,强化音乐教育的社会化功能,促进儿童的社会化进程。     

Verhaltens- und Kompetenzentwicklung im Kontext der Familie

The significance of family influences for children’s development is beyond dispute. Social disparities in stimulation provided by families and their influence on cognitive competencies have frequently been pointed out. However, little notice has been attracted to the variety of everyday family activities and their importance for children’s behavioral and competence development. Focusing on 6 to 8 years old children (n?=?1,377), this paper investigates firstly which factors affect mothers’ education-oriented and outdoor activities with their child, children’s involvement in household chores and aspects of parenting. Secondly, we analyze how these different types of activities as well as the parenting climate relate to children’s problem behavior, prosocial behavior, and everyday language skills. Cross-sectional regression analyses point to advantages of high maternal education and child-centered parenting. High maternal educational resources facilitate a focus on education-oriented activities, while outdoor activities and children’s involvement in household chores stand back. In addition to child-centered parenting, features of everyday family activities prove relevant for children’s behavioral and competence development.     

Motivational predictors of young adolescents' participation in an outdoor adventure course: A self-determination theory approach

Outdoor education is emerging as a compulsory component of the school curriculum in Singapore. As more and more young people are involved in outdoor education programmes, the motivational factors that influence students' participation in outdoor activities is an important area of study. The purpose of this study was to use the self-determination theory framework to examine post course satisfaction level among young adolescents. A total of 314 secondary school students aged from 12 to 16 years took part in the survey. Results showed that external regulation negatively predicted self-reported satisfaction whereas intrinsic motivation positively predicted participants' satisfaction levels of the course. It is highlighted that young adolescents should not be coerced into outdoor education programmes. They should be provided with a meaningful rationale for participation, given some autonomy for decision-making and to have a positive and enjoyable experience during the programme.     

Seeking resilience and sustainability: outdoor education in Singapore

Outdoor education is not a universal value. Rather, outdoor education's contributions need to be grounded in time, place and culture. In this paper we describe the historical and cultural milieu that has enabled the emergence of outdoor education in Singapore and report on exploratory survey research into Singaporean teachers' conceptions of outdoor education. We compare the reported outcomes of outdoor education in Singapore to similar studies from Australia and New Zealand. Further focus group research is then used to develop a vision for outdoor education in Singapore. In so doing we aim to illustrate, and celebrate, how culturally-specific circumstances must be considered in both interpreting and conceptualizing outdoor education. We conclude that while personal development outcomes are important for Singaporean outdoor educators, these are developed more for the benefits of society and the State. The future role of outdoor education in Singapore will most probably continue to be linked to ongoing and emerging social and cultural imperatives such as harmony among diverse religious groups and environmental consequences of climate change.     

Children's reasoning about disclosing adult transgressions: effects of maltreatment, child age, and adult identity

A total of two hundred ninety-nine 4- to 9-year-old maltreated and nonmaltreated children of comparable socioeconomic status and ethnicity judged whether children should or would disclose unspecified transgressions of adults (instigators) to other adults (recipients) in scenarios varying the identity of the instigator (stranger or parent), the identity of the recipient (parent, police, or teacher), and the severity of the transgression ("something really bad" or "something just a little bad"). Children endorsed more disclosure against stranger than parent instigators and less disclosure to teacher than parent and police recipients. The youngest maltreated children endorsed less disclosure than nonmaltreated children, but the opposite was true among the oldest children. Older maltreated children distinguished less than nonmaltreated children between parents and other types of instigators and recipients.     

Australian Secondary Students’ Views About Global Warming: Beliefs About Actions, and Willingness to Act

A 44-item questionnaire was constructed to determine secondary students’ views about how useful various specific actions might be at reducing global warming, their willingness to undertake the various actions, and the extent to which these two might be linked. Responses (n = 500) were obtained from students in years 7 to 10 in three schools in NSW, Australia. For some pro-environmental actions, the degree to which students professed a willingness to act was greater than might be expected from the extent to which they believed the action to be useful. Such actions are those that involve minimal inconvenience such as switching off un-used electrical appliances, or those that are becoming well embedded in social practice, such as recycling. For other pro-environmental actions, the degree to which students were willing to act seemed less than might be expected, given the extent to which they believed the action to be useful. Actions concerning personal transport, such as buying smaller cars or using public rather than private transport, and obtaining more electricity from nuclear power stations, fell into this category. Here, there are disincentives to acting in a pro-environmental manner relating to personal inconvenience, or concern about nuclear power. The data were also explored to determine the strength of the relationships, for each action, between students’ professed willingness to act and their belief that an action would be effective. This suggested a measure of the potential effectiveness of education about that action. For some actions, this relationship was weak; in such cases, altering belief about the usefulness of the action might not be expected to produce major changes in behaviour. Issues concerning public transport were of this type; clearly, for issues such as these, other approaches and/or inducements may be needed to persuade people to adopt pro-environmental behaviour patterns. For other actions the relationship was stronger, so that in these areas environmental education could well be effective, especially if a large proportion of the population are not already willing to undertake that action.