Ethical review and reflexivity in research of children's sexuality

Research in the area of children's sexuality is largely based on observational and retrospective studies. Childhood studies literature increasingly calls upon the inclusion of children's voices, yet with sensitive topics ethical positions often close research possibilities in the territories of children's worlds. Children are perceived as a vulnerable group, especially when the investigation focuses on their sexual development and activity – and it is perceived that this research area is too sensitive and potentially harmful to children. Within the context of beginning a qualitative study on children's sexuality in New Zealand (including interviews with children), this paper reviews a number of studies of childhood research. These studies provide a glimpse at how research focusing on children has been conducted, and explores ethical issues arising in such research. The significance of researcher reflexivity is acknowledged for ethical research practice. The paper concludes that in research on children's sexuality a process of ethical review is limited, and that researcher competence in sensitive investigations is required. Among other difficulties for this researcher (with a professional background in child and family therapy) is the vulnerability of being a man choosing to research children.     

Gender and sexuality in young children's perspectives of AIDS

Abstract

Responses to AIDS have often neglected children. Drawing on a qualitative study of young children aged 7–9 years, this paper draws attention to their understandings of HIV and AIDS. It is argued that young children are able to give meaning to the disease in ways that link to their social contexts, where gender inequalities and sexual violence are common. Sexuality is a key dimension through which they express knowledge of the disease. Young children do know the links between sex and AIDS, and connect vulnerability to the disease in gendered ways. To address the missing voices of young children requires coordinated efforts, requiring systemic responses which support teachers in initiatives to address taboo subjects like sexuality, as well as the pervasive poverty in which the children in our study are located.     

Navigating nature,culture and education in contemporary botanic gardens

Increasingly, humans are an urban species prone to ‘plant blindness’. This demographic shift and situation has implications for both individual and collective perceptions of nature, as well as for addressing ‘ecophobia’ and encouraging ‘biophilia’ through education. Contemporary humanity occupies a world in which extensive physical change, both in the landscape and its related organisms, is occurring . Education-related debates on these issues links to the noted phenomenon of a ‘bubble wrap generation’ growing up within ‘nature-deficit’ childhoods in ‘megalopolitan cities’. Indeed, some commentators consider that 'nature has already disappeared' and exists only in protected spaces. Such perceptions have consequences for education in ‘presented world’ settings such as zoos, botanic gardens and natural history museums. This editorial, and its associated collection of papers, considers the critical relationships between nature, culture and education in contemporary botanic gardens and the ways in which visitors navigate their journeys, as demonstrated by research.     

The nature and treatment of childhood anxiety

Several issues pertinent to childhood anxiety and related disorders are reviewed. These include the reliability and validity of existing classification systems, the diversity and shortcomings of behavioral assessment techniques, and the nature and efficacy of intervention strategies with this population. Particular attention is paid to the need to interface taxonomic, assessment, and treatment methods. A functional model of assessing and treating children and adolescents with school refusal behavior is presented as a preliminary example. Recommendations for future research by educators and psychologists are also discussed.     

知识构建与知识服务的优化

文章从知识构建的发展过程入手,对知识构建的涵义、知识构建的条件、知识构建的内容进行分析,并进一步探索知识构建与知识服务的关系,知识构建对知识服务的优化作用。如对知识获取的优化,对知识表达的优化,对知识存储的优化,对知识共享的优化。     

实践性知识及职前教师实践性知识的建构

实践性知识是教师进行教育教学的方法论知识,具有情境性、实践性、机智性和内隐性、缄默性的特点。当前高师院校对职前教师实践性知识的建构还处于十分薄弱环节,为此,高师院校必须重视职前教师实践性知识的建构,注重实习、见习环节,改革课堂教学模式,注重情境教学,引导职前教师在反思和批判中逐步建构实践性知识。     

Pre-school regulation in Ireland: learning from the past to improve young children's everyday lives in early childhood care and education services

The development of a system of regulation in early childhood care and education (ECCE) in Ireland was a slow process. Some decades passed between initial calls for regulation and the actual implementation of standards in 1997, reflecting the delay and inaction that has characterised ECCE policy implementation in general in Ireland. The present system has been criticised by some as not being far-reaching enough and a review, originally promised in 2001, is still overdue at time of writing. The question arises as to whether a regulatory system can fulfil the dual functions of, first, ensuring that services are meeting acceptable minimal standards and, second, supporting services to improve quality of provision beyond minimum standards and which promote children's development and learning. This question is explored in the light of discussions with the various stakeholders, recent policy developments in ECCE in Ireland, and the international debate on the relationship between regulations and quality.     

学科课程知识的呈现与建构

学科课程知识的呈现,包括通过文字符号表征形成书写的课程知识,通过言语表达形成可以言说的课程知识,通过动手操作演示形成直观可实证的课程知识。学科课程知识的建构是它在不同学生脑海里的实现机制,包括领悟客观的课程知识、创建主观的个人知识和回归可交流的公共知识。课程知识客观形式与主观内容的统一,可在课程知识的呈现与建构过程中实现。     

试论马克思主义人与自然关系理论对当代生态文明建设的启示

随着我国经济全球化、一体化进程的加快,人们对自然生态环境的破坏日趋严重,人与自然的矛盾也日渐凸显。本文将以此为背景,从马克思主义关于人与自然关系理论出发,在介绍生态文明概念的同时,结合马克思主义人与自然关系理论及其与当代生态文明建设的联系分析,就如何运用马克思主义人与自然关系理论发展当代生态文明进行探析。     

Digital storytelling and the nature of knowledge

While storytelling pedagogy presents novel perspectives and affordances to educators, a fundamental question that bears attention is the match between storytelling pedagogy and the nature of knowledge. Quite simply, the problem may be posed thus: is storytelling the optimum means for teaching all forms of knowledge? While rather obvious matches occur for knowledge in the social science, humanities, languages and literacy education, would storytelling pedagogy ‘work’ for the natural sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics classrooms? If so, what may be optimum means to integrate storytelling instruction in these latter kinds of classrooms? In this study, we report on the results of an implementation of digital storytelling in a grade five science classroom. Using what we termed the ‘edu-tainment’ approach, we asked students to design a digital story that communicated a scientific concept embedded within the narrative structure—characters within the narrative would experience the effects of the concept, the quality of the story being proxy indicators of students’ understanding of the scientific concept. We propose that this pedagogical strategy presents a strong challenge to discern students’ understanding, and we also discuss the effect of knowledge forms on the success of this pedagogy.     

Young children's ideas about the nature, causes, justification, and alleviation of poverty

Sixty-four 8-year-old boys and girls from urban and rural settings and representing different races and socioeconomic status backgrounds responded to questions about the nature, causes, justification, and alleviation of poverty. Much of what the children said indicated that they had not yet internalized prevailing adult norms and values about the poor in our society. A substantial proportion spoke in ways suggesting forces apart from the individual as causing poverty. Nearly all believed that poverty was not fair. Justifications offered by the children included disavowing economic inequality, or speaking in terms of basic needs or what should or ought to be. A majority mentioned philanthropy or societal change as a way to end poverty. Findings also lend support to the claim of social representations theory that concepts vary as a function of social factors. Future research should employ a design that acknowledges interacting variables to investigate systems of meaning in children's understandings about poverty.     

当代课程的文化建构使命

随着知识经济及教育改革的发展 ,提升教育的自主性品质及课程的自为性文化使命已成为当代教育发展的根本性出路。本文在批判地分析传统课程的文化使命与逻辑的基础上 ,具体探讨了当代课程的文化建构使命     

Effects of a life skills-based sexuality education programme on the life-skills,sexuality knowledge,self-management skills for sexual health,and programme satisfaction of adolescents

This study aimed to develop and establish the efficacy of a life skills-based sexuality education programme for junior high school students that focused on prevention. A non-equivalent control-group pretest-posttest design was employed with 105 students in the first-year of junior high school participating. The experimental group received 10 sessions of a life skills-based sexuality education programme, and the control group received 10 sessions of the standard sexuality education, both provided during a home economics class. A comparison of the two groups’ post-test scores showed that the experimental group scored significantly higher than the control group on sexual and reproductive health related knowledge (F = 58.50, p < .001) and life-skills (F = 11.52, p = .007). In addition, the experimental group showed a larger improvement in self-management skills for sexual health than did the control group (F = 9.32, p = .003). A life skills-based sexuality education programme increased life skills levels, knowledge about sexuality and sexual and reproductive health, and helped participants identify appropriate behaviours when facing a sexually risky situation. Results highlight the value of including an evidence-based and practice-oriented life skills-based sexuality education programme in the formal curriculum of junior high schools in Korea.     

The development of children's knowledge of the times of future events

Four studies with 261 children were conducted to describe 4- through 10-year-olds' ability to differentiate the future distances of events. Distances ranged from later the same day through nearly a year in the future. Judgment methods included pointing to parts of a spatial scale representing future distances and answering open-ended questions. Although 4-year-olds failed to differentiate future distances, 5-year-olds were able to distinguish events that would occur in the coming weeks and months from those that would not occur for many months. However, like young children in earlier studies of memory for time, they confused the near future with the recent past. Children 6 through 8 years of age made more differentiated judgments but collapsed the distances of events more than a few months in the future. By 8 to 10 years of age, children accurately judged distances by using mental representations of the times of events in the annual cycle.