Exceptional Scholarship and Democratic Agendas: Interviews with John Goodlad,John Hoyle,Joseph Murphy,and Thomas Sergiovanni

This portraiture study of four exceptional scholars in education – John Goodlad, John Hoyle, Joseph Murphy, and Thomas Sergiovanni – provides insight into their scholarly work and life habits, direction and aspirations, assessment and analysis of major trends in the profession, and advice for aspiring leaders and academics. Telephone interviews with the leading scholars (4) and their referral colleagues (8), in addition to document analysis, validated the following criteria for the selection of exceptional scholarship previously generated via survey respondents (educational leadership professors): The scholar (a) publishes widely, (b) has broad impact, (c) has multiple spheres of influence, and (d) has established mentoring systems. Democratic concepts and agendas for education emerged from the interviews focused on exceptional scholarship, an outcome incorporated within the results.     

Devil,Deceiver, Dupe: Constructing John Dewey from the Right

The far right in the United States has gained international visibility and power by promulgating its ideas using multiple media sources. This paper considers contemporary right‐wing representations of John Dewey as found on English‐language internet websites. The author employs discourse analytic methods to address the questions—‘How is John Dewey constructed in right‐wing internet discourse?’ and ‘By what means has the Right come to construct Dewey in this way?’ Elements of the internet discourse are related to texts that helped shape it. The paper demonstrates that far right‐wing websites construct Dewey and his ideas as the antithesis of American values and as a political and existential threat of the highest order. In this discourse, Dewey is connected to Satan, communism and global conspiracy theories. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of these beliefs for current educational and political philosophy and praxis.     

Re-referral to child protective services: the influence of child, family, and case characteristics on risk status

INTRODUCTION: This study examines child, family, and case characteristics that impact rates of re-referral to Child Protective Services (CPS) using data on all closed CPS investigations for the state of Rhode Island between 2001 and 2004. METHOD: A longitudinal dataset of all referrals to CPS was created using state submissions to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS). After excluding children whose initial CPS investigation resulted in removal from the home, a Cox proportional hazards model was tested to examine factors impacting the likelihood of re-referral. RESULTS: Consistent with other research in this area, the initial 6-month period following case disposition is the period of greatest risk of re-referral. Approximately 13% of cases experienced a recurrent allegation during the first 6-month period; an additional 14% experienced a re-referral over the following 12-month period; 7% during the next 12-month period. Family poverty was the strongest predictor of re-referral, though a number of child and case characteristics were significantly related to recurrence. Cases that were substantiated at index were significantly less likely to result in a new allegation, though substantiated cases of physical abuse or those receiving post-investigation services were at higher risk. CONCLUSIONS: Children from families facing multiple stressors (e.g., low SES, parental substance abuse child disability) are at highest risk of re-referral to CPS and may benefit from the development of preventive services targeted immediately following case closings within CPS.     

Race,ethnicity, and child maltreatment: An empirical analysis

Using central registry data for Texas for 1975–1977 of validated cases of abuse and of neglect, a study was conducted to investigate empirically the relationship of child maltreatment to ethnicity, addressing methodological issues that merit consideration in such studies.The ethnic composition of the at-risk population was 61% Anglos, 15% Blacks, and 24% Mexican-Americans. The annual rates for all abuse and neglect were 2.87, 3.17, and 3.94 per 1,000 under 18 population for Anglos, Mexican-Americans, and Blacks, respectively. Abuse was more predominant among Anglos, accounting for 33.5% of the validated cases of maltreatment, than among Mexican-Americans and Blacks, accounting for 25.2% and 29.4% of the maltreatment, respectively. Neglect was the major dynamic of maltreatment for Mexican-Americans and Blacks, accounting for 65.6% and 61.2% of the maltreatment, respectively, with Anglos having 55.4% of the maltreatment due to neglect. These relationships were not altered when rural-urban differences were taken into consideration.     

Adult health in child care: Health status,behaviors, and concerns of teachers,directors, and family child care providers

This article reports the results of a statewide survey of health status, behaviors, and concerns of 446 randomly selected early childhood professionals (78 group child care center directors, 236 teachers, and 132 family child care providers). More than 85% of each professional group rated their health as either good or excellent; 87% have worked when ill. Twenty-five percent of the sample (33% directors, 15% staff, 36% family providers) have become pregnant since working in child care. Respondents reported being “overweight” at levels more than twice state adult frequencies. Dramatic changes were reported in perceived frequency of various symptoms and becoming ill since working in child care. Significant differences between the groups were found for number of absences due to illness, nutrition, stressfulness of working in child care, and ergonomics and physical demands of the job.     

Evaluating Cultures: The Instrumentalism,Pluralist Perfectionism,and Particularism of John Gray

In this article, Matthew Johnson examines the possibility of using elements of John Gray's work to advance a means of evaluating cultures, in order to inform the development of pluralist perfectionist forms of public policy and, in particular, educational programs. Johnson engages critically with elements of Gray's value pluralism, such as his understanding of the objectivity and universality in human values, needs, and well‐being; determinacy of circumstance; and particularity with regard to the selection of values. These elements support an instrumental account of culture in which a group's choice of values is assessed according to their contribution to well‐being. Johnson then considers the potential conflict between pluralism and perfectionism in the development of education systems in heterogeneous societies, highlighting the harms inflicted on the identity, meaning, and security of particular groups by attempts to promote well‐being. Johnson concludes the article with an exploration of possible means of minimizing harm through pragmatic engagement with identity and circumstance.     

Cumulative environmental risk in substance abusing women: early intervention, parenting stress, child abuse potential and child development

OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between cumulative environmental risks and early intervention, parenting attitudes, potential for child abuse and child development in substance abusing mothers. METHOD: We studied 161 substance-abusing women, from a randomized longitudinal study of a home based early intervention, who had custody of their children through 18 months. The intervention group received weekly home visits in the first 6 months and biweekly visits from 6 to 18 months. Parenting stress and child abuse potential were assessed at 6 and 18 months postpartum. Children's mental and motor development (Bayley MDI and PDI) and language development (REEL) were assessed at 6, 12, and 18 months postpartum. Ten maternal risk factors were assessed: maternal depression, domestic violence, nondomestic violence, family size, incarceration, no significant other in home, negative life events, psychiatric problems, homelessness, and severity of drug use. Level of risk was recoded into four categories (2 or less, 3, 4, and 5 or more), which had adequate cell sizes for repeated measures analysis. DATA ANALYSIS: Repeated measures analyses were run to examine how level of risk and group (intervention or control) were related to parenting stress, child abuse potential, and children's mental, motor and language development over time. RESULTS: Parenting stress and child abuse potential were higher for women with five risks or more compared with women who had four or fewer risks; children's mental, motor, and language development were not related to level of risk. Children in the intervention group had significantly higher scores on the PDI at 6 and 18 months (107.4 vs. 103.6 and 101.1 vs. 97.2) and had marginally better scores on the MDI at 6 and 12 months (107.7 vs. 104.2 and 103.6 vs. 100.1), compared to the control group. CONCLUSION: Compared to drug-abusing women with fewer than five risks, women with five or more risks found parenting more stressful and indicated greater inclination towards abusive and neglectful behavior, placing their infants at increased risk for poor parenting, abuse and neglect. Early home-based intervention in high-risk families may be beneficial to infant development.