Specific spelling disability: Factual or artifactual?

The research reported in this paper attempted to find whether the so called poor spellers who are good readers are indeed good readers or if this impression is misleading. Three college students who appeared to be poor spellers but good readers were tested using a variety of techniques. It was found that the three subjects were indeed inefficient readers who committed numerous errors in reading function words, low frequency and unfamiliar words, and pronounceable nonwords. Not being proficient in the phonological conversion of print, these subjects depend excessively on an orthographic sight reading strategy which hinders accurate reading. There appears to be a trade off between speed and comprehension in reading and by slowing down considerably, the poor spellers but good readers attain an acceptable level of comprehension. It was concluded that reading aloud and spelling involve phonological mediation and, therefore, are not completely dissociable.     

Print and reading: What do preschoolers know?

John Downing, an eminent reading researcher at Canada's University of Victoria, says that many children come to school in a state of cognitive confusion about the functions of reading and the terms we use when we start to teach them to read formally. Adults take for granted that young children know what they mean when they talk about a word, a letter, a sound, and other print-related terms. In his studies done in England and in Canada, Downing (1970; 1973–74) has found that many children, especially those who have not been read to regularly, simply don't understand the conventions of print and really don't understand what reading is all about.Joan T. Feeley is Professor of Reading and Language Arts at William Paterson College in Wayne, New Jersey.     

On the numerical competence of six-years-old children

The paper presents some of the results obtained in the course of experiments which have provided evidence of a considerable degree of numerical competence exhibited by six-years-olds and of their fairly advanced activity in discovering and dealing with arithmetical problems.The children used both counting and non-counting ways for solving arithmetical problems. They applied them elastically and interchangeably, often combining them into mutually complementary patterns of finding solutions.     

Visual processing during mathematical problem solving

This study investigated, in the context of mathematical problem solving by secondary school students, the nature of the visual schemata which Johnson (1987) hypothesises mediate between logical propositional structures and rich specific visual images. Four groups of grade 10 students were studied, representing all combinations of high and low operational ability in mathematics (equivalent to Johnson's logical propositional structures) and high and low vividness of visual imagery (corresponding to Johnson's rich images). The results suggested first, that success at problem solving was related to logical operational ability, but not to vividness of visual imagery. Second, a variety of visually based strategies were used during problem solving which differed in their level of generality and abstraction, and use of these strategies appeared related to either logical operational ability or vividness of visual imagery, depending on their level of abstraction. The results supported Presmeg's (1992b) continuum of abstraction of image schemata.Throughout the paper, the first High or Low denotes logical operational ability, and the second, vividness of visual imagery.     

Whitehead and a new look at teaching elementary science

If Whitehead is right, science teachers who try to increase student interest by making the science they teach more pure and by covering more material are going about their work in just the wrong way. Science, for purposes of precision in measurement, translates the dynamic world of feeling and force, of causal efficacy (for example, the San Francisco earthquake), into a static representation spatialized and given presentational immediacy (for example, the Richter scale). But notice that the Richter scale isn't very interesting (even as abstract art) apart from its connection, via symbolic reference, to the earthquake. Such reference is essential to give both a sense of reality and a feeling of interes to the subject, but it makes the science less pure, and it takes more time to cover the material. An example of teaching pure and impure formal logic is given as a case study.     

Exploring the Concept of ‘Habitus’ with Preservice Teachers Through the Use of Popular School Films

The thesis of this paper is that it is a productive venture to introduce preservice students to social theories that are typically not a part of teacher preparation programs. Examples of these theories are those associated with terms such as habitus, the carnivalesque, power / knowledge, seduction, detournement, the spectacle,la perruque, (the wig), and the art of making do,as well as others. In this paper, I describe a project that involved exploring the theory of habitus to problematize the tendency of preservice students to not think in terms of relations between what goes on in the classroom and what goes on in society. I introduced habitus by having preservice students read selected print materials and by having them view, analyze, and respond in writing to popular school films. Students also analyzed their experiences in classrooms in terms of habitus, making a connection between theory and practice.     

Language factor: Does it affect children's performance on word problems?

48 children from primary 4 in private and public schools (24 from each) were asked to solve 10 arithmetic word problems (involving more or less as the cue word) presented in English and in their native language. Retrospective clinical interviews were also conducted to find out how each child analyzed the meaning of each problem, before deciding which operation to use to solve it. The results revealed that both public and private school children performed better both in skills and in strategies when problems were presented in their native language than when presented in English, but only public school had the result to be significant (P<.025). Also data obtained from the interviews are in accord with psycholinguistic theories concerning the polarized comparative pair of less and more.     

Word-reading and word-spelling styles of French beginners: Do all children learn to read and spell in the same way?

This article explores the styles of word reading and word spelling used by beginning readers in the French language. The aim of the study was to find out whether sub-lexical and lexical styles of reliance, which has been observed in children learning to read and spell in English, exists in French, a language with a more transparent orthography. A sample of 159 subjects were assessed on their reading and spelling of regular words, irregular words and nonwords. Cluster analyses on reading/spelling performances led us to identify various profiles, among which sub-lexical and lexical styles could be discerned. These profiles were then compared across a set of linguistic tasks in order to look for factors that might be related to individual differences in reading/spelling styles. Overall, our findings suggest that quantitative level differences explain most individual variation in literacy. These results are discussed in relation to developmental models of reading and spelling in different orthographic systems.     

Selbstorganisation: ein neues Paradigma für die Schulpädagogik — oder alter Wein in neuen Schläuchen?

Zusammenfassung Die Schulpädagogik ist seit langem daran gewöhnt, mit Theorieangeboten aus anderen Wissenschaftsdisziplinen konfrontiert zu werden. Mit dem Paradigma der Selbstorganisation liegt gegenwärtig eine sehr komplexe Konzeption bereit, die die Schulpädagogik zur Reflexion über ihren Gegenstand Schule anregen kann. Eine von diesem Paradigma motivierte differenztheoretische Betrachtungsweise von Systemen schärft den Block für die Möglichkeiten, aber vor allem für die Grenzen eines modernene Sozialsystems, wie es die Schule heute ist. Die Fragen, ob Schule kompensatorische Erziehungsleistungen für das Familiensystem erbringen kann, ob unterrichtliches Handeln auch therapeutisches Handeln sein kann, können aus der Perspektive dieses Paradigmas beantwortet werden.

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School education has long been accustomed to accommodating theories from other scientific disciplines. The paradigm of self-organization provides a complex concept which will stimulate reflection on the phenomenon of schools within educational science. Analysis of systems in the light of different theory, motivated by this paradigm, can give a clearer view of the potential and limitations of a modern social system, which is what a school now is. By employing this paradigm, answers can be found to the questions whether schools can deliver education that compensates for family systems, and whether teaching can also provide therapy.

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Resumen La educación escolar desde hace mucho tiempo se ha acostumbrado a adaptar teorías de otras disciplinas científicas. El paradigma de la auto-orgnización provee un concepto complejo que estimulará la reflexión acerca de fenómeno de las escuelas dentro de la ciencia de la educación. El análisis de sistemas a la luz de una teoría diferencial, motivada por este paradigma, podrá proporcionar una visión más clara del potencial y de las limitaciones de un sistema social moderno, de lo que es una escuela ahora. Aplicando este paradigma, podrán encontrarse soluciones a los interrogantes de si las escuelas pueden proporcionar una educacíon que compense sistemas familiares, y si la enseñanza puede también redundar en terapia.

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Résumé L'éducation scolaire est depuis longtemps habituée à assimiler les théories d'autres disciplines scientifiques. Le modèle de l'autogestion fournit un concept complexe qui donnera aux sciences de l'éducation matière à réflexion sur le phénomène de l'école. Une analyse des systèmes à la lumière de la théorie différentielle soutenue par ce modèle peut donner une vision plus claire des possibilités et des limites d'un système social moderne, comme l'est l'école aujourd'hui. Dans l'optique de ce modèle, des réponses peuvent être apportées aux questions si l'école peut remplir un rôle compensatoire par rapport au système familial, et si l'enseignement constitue aussi une action thérapeutique.

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Much ado about nothing: Science and hermeneutics

Insofar as the basic concepts (in particular, meaning, interpretation, text) and theses of Martin Eger's hermeneutics of the sciences are intelligible they are not distinctive, and insofar as they are distinctive they are unintelligible and/or lack backup arguments. Ambiguity characterises much of the argument. James Cushing's elaboration of hermeneutics, using the history of quantum mechanics as an illustration of its supposed strengths, does nothing to rescue the position against the criticisms here levelled at Martin Eger's formulations of it.     

The Changing Debate on Internationalisation of Higher Education

Internationalisation, the growing border-crossing activities between national systems of higher education is losing ground to globalisation, increasing border-crossing activities of blurred national systems which is often employed to depict world-wide trends and growing global competition. This article addresses recent issues of knowledge transfer. It points out tensions between increasing diversity in higher education and efforts to facilitate recognition of prior studies on student mobility. It shows the diversity of steering and management policies with respect to internationalisation and globalisation. Finally, it asks whether globalisation of higher education has to be viewed as a manifestation of turbo-capitalism or could be viewed instead as a move towards global understanding.     

Critical thinking and the Spock Fallacy

Conventional instruction in critical thinking technique tends to conflate logical thinking with rational or good thinking. But in doing so, it ignores the creative and intuitive functions of rationality, thereby encouraging a mechanically rote approach to textual analysis, problem solving and problem construction. This overemphasis upon straightforwardly logical calculus of justification functions, and its concomitant deemphasis of intuitive pattern of discovery ones, constitute the Spock Fallacy. Its epistemological weakness and pedagogical hazards are explored.The author of two books and numerous articles, one of his specialties is philosophy of education and critical thinking.     

The effects of educational reform on the content and status of the social subjects in England and wales and the USA: A case study

Over the past decade educational reform has been taking place in the USA and in England and Wales. This paper traces the political pressures to change the social subjects curriculum on both sides of the Atlantic. In England and Wales the new National Curriculum aims to raise educational standards and to increase accountability through a national assessment system. In the USA the Federal Government has set to work on establishing national goals. There is evidence in both countries that the new curricula are emerging from a political process which imposes content and structures upon teachers with little consultation. The paper concentrates on how the social studies curriculum has been affected in this process. It explores the politics of curricular reform by comparing events in the USA and England and Wales and outlines the ways, particularly in the British context, in which the teaching profession has explored the limits of its power and has fought back against central control to make its voice heard.

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Zusammenfassung In den letzten zehn Jahren gab es eine Bildungsreform in den USA, sowie in England und Wales. Dieser Bericht studiert den politischen Druck, der zu einer Änderung des Curriculums in den Sozialfächern auf beiden Seiten des Atlantiks geführt hat. In England und Wales soll das neue nationale Curriculum den Bildungsstandard anheben und die Verantwortlichkeit durch ein nationales Bewertungssystem steigern. In den USA begann die Bundesregierung mit der Festsetzung nationaler Ziele, die den Lehrern Inhalte und Strukturen mit wenig Mitbestimmungsrecht auferlegt. Der Artikel konzentriert sich auf die Auswirkungen dieses Prozesses auf das Curriculum der Sozialstudien. Er untersucht die Politik der Curriculums-Reform, in dem Ereignisse in den USA, England und Wales verglichen werden. Insbesondere im britischen Kontext werden Wege aufgezeigt, auf denen der Lehrberuf die Grenzen seiner Macht erforscht und sich gegen eine zentrale Kontrolle gewehrt hat, um Aufmerksamkeit auf sich zu ziehen.

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Resumen Durante la última década se ha realizado una reforma de la educación en los EEUU, Inglaterra y Gales. Este trabajo esboza las presiones políticas de cambiar los planes de estudio de los sujetos sociales a ambos lados de Atlántico. En Inglaterra y Gales, elNew National Curriculum aspira a crear estándares de la educación y a incrementar la responsabilidad a través de un sistema nacional de valoración. En los EEUU, el Gobierno Federal ha comenzado a trabajar en la fijación de objetivos nacionales. Es evidente que en ambos países los nuevos planes de estudios están emergiendo de un proceso político que impone contenidos y estructuras a los maestros, consultándolos poco o nada. El trabajo se concentra en el impacto que ha sufrido el curriculo de estudios sociales en este proceso. Explora la política de la reforma curricular comparando acontecimientos de los EE UU y de Inglaterra y Gales y proporciona una idea general de los modos, particularmente en el contexto británico, en los que la profesión de enseñanza ha explorado los límites du su poder y se ha defendido contra el control central para hacerse escuchar.

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Résumé Au cours de la dernière décennie, une réforme éducative a été engagée aux Etats-Unis, en Angleterre et au pays de Galles. Cet article retrace les pressions politigues qui ont été exercées pour remanier les thèmes sociaux dans les programmes des deux côtés de l'Atlantique. En Angleterre et au pays de Galles, le nouveau curriculum national a pour but d'élever les niveaux de l'enseignement et d'augmenter la responsabilité par un système national d'évaluation. Aux Etats-Unis, le gouvernement fédéral a entrepris d'établir des objectifs nationaux. Il est évident que dans les deux pays, les nouveaux programmes sont nés d'un processus politique qui a imposé aux enseignants des contenus et des structures en les consultant à peine. L'article se concentre sur les retombées de ce processus sur les programmes d'études sociales. Il étudie la politique de la réforme curriculaire en comparant les événements intervenus aux Etats-Unis et en Angleterre-pays de Galles et souligne, en particulier dans le contexte britannique, la façon dont le corps enseignant a épuisé les limites de son pouvoir et a résisté au contrôle central pour se faire entendre.

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Orthographic processing and visual sequential memory in unexpectedly poor spellers

Does unexpectedly poor spelling in adults result from inferior visual sequential memory? In one experiment, unexpectedly poor spellers performed significantly worse than better spellers in the immediate reproduction of sequences of visual symbols, but in a second experiment, the effect was not replicated. Poor spellers were also no worse at the immediate recognition of symbol sequences. Overall, the results indicate that inferior visual memory is not characteristic of unexpectedly poor spellers. However, they do have less efficient orthographic processing skill: they were significantly slower and more error prone than better spellers at classifying both regularly and strangely spelt words, as well as at detecting letter transpositions in long words. They can thus be considered as subtly worse word readers than better spellers. While the findings question the notion of unexpectedly poor spelling in relation to normal adults, they provide confirmation of the intimate relationship between reading and spelling processes.     

Sociological theory and the analysis of strategies of educational redress

In this paper, three sociological models or theoretical templates for the analysis of social order are outlined: (a) the order-consensus model, (b) the conflict model and (c) interactionist models. The paper then discusses how each model can be applied to what is here called educational redress. Special reference is made to those redress strategies addressed to pre-school-age children-strategies customarily termed Compensatory Education Programmes. The paper goes on to show how proponents of each model would approach the analysis of such programmes, and how proponents of each model would criticize the other models' analyses. It is shown that the three sociological models are located in, and formalizations of, commonsense conceptions of social structure tacitly held by lay members of society, and that even professional educators typically do not make their model of society very explicit. Finally the paper upholds the belief that the above elements constitute what sociologists can add to the understanding of educational redress strategies.

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Zusammenfassung In diesem Artikel werden drei soziologische Modelle oder theoretische Schablonen für die Analyse der Sozialstruktur umrissen: (a) das Struktur-Konsens-Modell, (b) das Konfliktmodell und (c) das Wechselwirkungsmodell in seinen verschiedenen Varianten. Dann wird untersucht, wie jedes dieser Modelle auf den Bildungsausgleich angewandt werden kann, insbesondere auf die Ausgleichsstrategien für Kinder im Vorschulalter, die gewöhnlich mit Kompensierende Erziehungsprogramme bezeichnet werden. Anschliessend wird beschrieben, wie Protagonisten jedes dieser Modelle diese Programme analysieren und wie sie mit Hilfe der anderen Modelle vorgenommene Analysen kritisieren würden. Weiterhin wird ausgeführt, dass die drei Modelle Formalisierungen der unter Laiengruppen verbreiteten Vorstellungen von der Gesellschaftsordnung darstellen, und dass selbst Pädagogen ihr Gesellschaftsmodell gewöhnlich nicht klar definieren. Zum Schluss spricht der Verfasser seine Ansicht aus, dass die Soziologie durch die obigen Elemente zum Verständnis der Bildungsausgleich-Strategien beitragen kann.

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Résumé Dans ce rapport sont décrits trois modèles sociologiques ou échantillons theoriques pour l'analyse de l'ordre social: (a) le modèle ordre-consensus, (b) le modèle conflit et (c) les modèles interactionnistes. Le rapport examine ensuite comment pouvoir appliquer chaque modèle à ce qu'on appelle ici redressement éducatif. Sont mentionnés particulièrement les stratégies de redressement que l'on adresse aux stratégies pour enfants d'âge préscolaire, appelées habituellement Programmes d'éducation compensatoire. Le rapport montre ensuite comment les défenseurs de chaque modèle aborderaient l'analyse de ces programmes, et comment ils critiqueraient les analyses des autres modèles. On montre que les trois modèles sociologiques sont situés dans — et sont en fait des formalisations — des conceptions courantes de structure sociale qu'ont tacitement les membres laïques de la société, et que même les éducateurs professionnels ne rendent typiquement pas leur modèle de la société très explicite. Enfin, l'auteur est convaincu que les éléments susmentionnés constituent ce que les sociologues peuvent ajouter à la compréhension des stratégies de redressement éducatif.

     

University and community: Evolving perceptions of the African university

For the past two decades universities in Africa have been engaged in a re-examination of their relationship with society. In the light of this, the popular characterization of the African university as reflecting colonial, international, stages of development, or levels of integration models, appears inadequate to describe the challenge involved in creating an African identity for the university. Similarly, conceptions of the university as an instrument for creating an educated, planned or changed society or to think of it in terms of preserving and reflecting the dominant features of society, seem inadequate to describe fully the demands of contemporary and future society upon the university. A new framework of thought is urgently required; such a framework would encompass the desired aims of both the university and society and the relationships - dynamic and organic - between them. This article attempts to formulate such a framework and indicates its implications for the structure, content and operation of the university in Africa.     

Take-home video for adult literacy

In the past, it has not been possible to teach oneself to read at home, because learners could not read the books to teach them. Videos and interactive compact discs have changed that situation and challenge current assumptions of the pedagogy of literacy. This article describes an experimental adult literacy project using video technology. The language used is English, but the basic concepts apply to any alphabetic or syllabic writing system. A half-hour cartoon video can help adults and adolescents with learning difficulties. Computer-animated cartoon graphics are attractive to look at, and simplify complex material in a clear, lively way. This video technique is also proving useful for distance learners, children, and learners of English as a second language. Methods and principles are to be extended using interactive compact discs.

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Zusammenfassung In der Vergangenheit war es nicht möglich, sich selbst in Heimarbeit lesen beizubringen, da die Lernenden die Lehrbücher nicht lesen konnten. Videos und interaktive Compact discs haben diese Situation geändert und gegenwärtige Meinungen zur Pädagogik der Alphabetisierung herausgefordert. Dieser Artikel beschreibt ein experimentelles Erwachsenenalphabetisierungsprogramm, das Videotechnologie anwendet. Arbeitssprache ist Englisch, aber das Grundkonzept gilt für jedes alphabetische oder syllabische Schreibsystem. Ein halbstündiges Zeichentrickvideo soll Erwachsenen und Jugendlichen mit Lernschwierigkeiten helfen. Computeranimierte Zeichentrickgraphiken sind attraktive Lernmittel, die komplexes Material klar und lebendig vereinfachen. Diese Videotechnik dient auch Fernlerndenden, Kindern und Lernenden mit Englisch als Zweitsprache. Methoden und Prinzipien müssen durch den Gebrauch von interaktiven Compakt Discs erweitert werden.

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Resumen Durante el pasado, no ha sido posible el autoaprendizaje de la lectura en el hogar, ya que los lectores no estaban en condiciones de leer los libros de enseñanza. Ahora, los videos y los discos compactos interactivos cambiaron esta situación, creando un desafío para los conceptos corrientes de la pedagogía de alfabetización. Este artículo describe un proyecto experimental de alfabetización de adultos mediante el uso de tecnología de video. El lenguaje utilizado es el inglés, pero los conceptos básicos son aplicables para cualquier sistema de escritura alfabética o silábica. Un video de dibujos animados de media hora de duración puede ayudar a los adultos y adolescentes con dificultades de aprendizaje. Las gráficas animadas por computadora son atractivas para el espectador y simplifican materias complejas de un modo claro y ameno. Esta técnica de video también está mostrando su utilidad para el estudio a distancia, para la instrucción de niños y para el aprendizaje del inglés como segunda lengua. Los métodos y los principios también se pueden ampliar mediante la utilización de discos compactos interactivos.

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Résumé Jusqu'à présent, il n'était pas possible d'apprendre à lire seul chez soi, puisque les apprenants ne pouvaient pas lire les manuels d'enseignement. La vidéographie et le disque compact interactif ont modifié cette situation et remettent en cause les principes courants de la pédagogie de l'alphabétisation. L'article décrit un projet expérimental d'alphabétisation des adultes qui exploite la technologie vidéo. La langue utilisée est l'anglais, mais les concepts de base peuvent être appliqués à tout système d'écriture alphabétique ou syllabique. Un dessin animé sur vidéo d'une demi-heure se propose d'aider les adultes et adolescents éprouvant des difficultés. Les graphiques animés par électronique sont agréables à regarder et illustrent de façon claire et vivante les matières complexes. Cette technique vidéo se révèle également utile pour les apprenants à distance, les enfants et pour l'enseignement de l'anglais en seconde langue. Les méthodes et principes d'utilisation de disques compact interactifs restent à développer.

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A multivariate approach to the assessment of quality

Most quality assessment studies utilize a univariate approach to the assessment of quality. While the univariate approach has some merit, this study presents an alternative—the multivariate approach. Factor analysis identified three clusters of variables potentially linked to quality. These clusters, labeled faculty research, input, and student, were later used as bases for measuring departmental excellence. Seven indicators based on these clusters were developed. The indicators that combined the first and second clusters and the indicators that combined all three clusters appeared to have produced the best estimates of departmental excellence.     

Towards minimizing social,cultural, and intellectual disruptions embedded in literacy instruction

A personal attempt to make sense of the diverse array of information, both practical and theoretical, about the complex concept called literacy is articulated through the development of the Integrative Systems Model of literacy. The model illustrates how understanding literacy has direct applications to both instruction and research. As well, the model's utility in reconciling opposing concepts of literacy is shown. Finally, some practical suggestions for literacy instruction consistent with the model and which appear to minimize social, cultural, and intellectual disruption are presented.     

Working Towards Building Cultures of Peace: A Primer for Students and New Professionals

As the counseling profession moves into the 21st century, counselors and psychologists are increasingly expanding their roles in the reduction of violence across settings. For students and new professionals, this new horizon of needs and opportunities can create some role confusion as traditional direct service functions of individual and group therapy are evolving into indirect services that focus on broader interventions to help create peace. This article seeks to contribute a foundational guide for readers interested in peace psychology. The article provides a brief overview of the peace psychology movement, current trends, and informational sources. It reflects on factors that influence the decision to get involved and provides possible ways to participate in social action, as well as citing a personal example of how one student got involved in building cultures of peace within an international setting.