Is There a Doctor in the House?

Doctor Jim Bruce was on night duty when the hospital received an urgent call.A doctor was needed at once to attend a birth.Jim was given a sheet of paper withthe address.Without delay,he hurried to his car and set off for the house,whichwas about ten minutes'drive from the hospital.He had been driving for about fiveminutes when his car broke down.Jim tried to start the engine again,but nothinghe did had any effect.He gave up trying and set off walking.     

Is There a Need for a European Institutional Research?

Recent changes in European higher education have accompanied a strong desire and need by national ministries to have comparable data across institutions and a growing recognition from campus leaders that effective planning and decision-making requires reliable institutional data and analyses. This has induced changes and restructuring of duties and roles of administration, administrative staff and academic staff. In North America, internal institutional data analysis is often referred to as institutional research. We examine the roles and functions of institutional research within North America and how the changes within European higher education have created a purpose for institutional research. Specifically, we explore the topical areas of institutional assessment, data management, institutional governance, as well asthe changing identity of academic professionals within European universities. Within our examination, we explore in-depth one European country’s higher education system to demonstrate how history, culture and legislative changes manifest into a need for institutional research.     

Is There a Link Between Teachers' Beliefs and Behaviors?

This study examined the link between beliefs and behaviors for early childhood teachers. Currently, consensus has not been reached regarding the belief-practice relationship for early childhood educators due to inconsistent attention to measurement specificity, perceived ability to practice beliefs, and strength of teacher training. The participants in this study were 47 early childhood educators. Teachers were primarily female and all worked with children aged 3–5. Teachers had worked with children aged 3–5 an average of 7.6 years (range = 0–30). Many teachers had training in early childhood. Twenty-nine had majored in early childhood and 26 held teaching certificates. Teaching beliefs were measured with a self-report questionnaire. Teaching actions were assessed with four observational measures via videotape. The results showed that there was not a relationship between teachers' beliefs and actions. In addition, the results indicated that when teachers had more experience with children they were less sensitive and that early childhood teaching certification held was a positive predictor of high level involvement and verbalizations.     

Is DNA Alive? A Study of Conceptual Change Through Targeted Instruction

We are involved in a project to incorporate innovative assessments within a reform-based large-lecture biochemistry course for nonmajors. We not only assessed misconceptions but purposefully changed instruction throughout the semester to confront student ideas. Our research questions targeted student conceptions of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) along with understanding in what ways classroom discussions/activities influence student conceptions. Data sources included pre-/post-assessments, semi-structured interviews, and student work on exams/assessments. We found that students held misconceptions about the chemical nature of DNA, with 63 % of students claiming that DNA is alive prior to instruction. The chemical nature of DNA is an important fundamental concept in science fields. We confronted this misconception throughout the semester collecting data from several instructional interventions. Case studies of individual students revealed how various instructional strategies/assessments allowed students to construct and demonstrate the scientifically accepted understanding of the chemical nature of DNA. However, the post-assessment exposed that 40 % of students still held misconceptions about DNA, indicating the persistent nature of this misconception. Implications for teaching and learning are discussed.     

Academic Staff Involvement and Openness to Diversity in International Educational Organisations: Is There a Moderating Effect of Shared Language?

Joint work among academic staff is important for solving the ever‐increasing number of complex tasks that are becoming part of everyday activities in higher education. At the same time, diversification and internationalisation may challenge collaboration processes and communication demands. Speaking a shared language consistently could be a way of overcoming problems. Hence, this study focuses on the effect of shared language among academic staff on the relation between academic staff involvement in work processes and openness to diversity. This study draws on data from 489 Danish academic staff members in science departments of three universities. Results show positive associations between academic staff involvement and all openness‐to‐diversity variables (openness to informational, linguistic, value and visible diversity). Shared language had a positive effect on openness to surface level types of diversity (linguistic and visible) but no effect on openness to deep‐level types of diversity (informational and value).     

Genuine Religious Tolerance: Is It a Thing of the Past in Public Schools?

The so-called Culture Wars have made the issue of religious tolerance in schools more confusing than ever. Where once free speech trumped nearly every concern in these wars in the public schools, there is now great concern about whether messages put out are politically correct. The preoccupation teachers now have with avoiding speech or themes likely to get them into trouble has led to a new form of censorship. The authors explain that free speech in the educational forum requires respect for every earnest attempt to get at a legitimate truth claim. In matters religious, this epistemic openness is no longer respected. The argument below does not encourage teachers to engage in debate among students in matters religious, or even to encourage it. Nor are the arguments below aimed at introducing religious discourse as a means of developing skills of critical thinking as the feminist, moral philosopher Nel Noddings has previously recommended. The argument simply concludes with the modest recommendation that teachers be more conscientious about indirectly censoring or trivializing student religious speculations.     

Is There a Role for Executive Functions in the Development of Mathematics Ability?

ABSTRACT— This article examines the role of working memory, attention shifting, and inhibitory control executive cognitive functions in the development of mathematics knowledge and ability in children. It suggests that an examination of the executive cognitive demand of mathematical thinking can complement procedural and conceptual knowledge-based approaches to understanding the ways in which children become proficient in mathematics. Task analysis indicates that executive cognitive functions likely operate in concert with procedural and conceptual knowledge and in some instances might act as a unique influence on mathematics problem-solving ability. It is concluded that consideration of the executive cognitive demand of mathematics can contribute to research on best practices in mathematics education.     

The End of Public Schools? Or a New Beginning?

Abstract

Public education is becoming increasingly privatized as private philanthropic organizations, such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and corporations, such as Pearson, dominate the policy-making process, and more students enroll in publicly funded but privately administered charter schools. The privatization of education results from the dominance of neoliberal ideals promoting market competition, individualism, and standardized testing. In response, we call for replacing neoliberalism with social democratic policies emphasizing community, trust, and democratic deliberation.     

Is There Any Change in Science Educational Reforms? A sociological study of theories of instruction

This study analyzes the theory of instruction legitimized by the Ministry of Education in the present reform (1991) by comparison with the previous reform (1975), in order to find out possible changes in the teacher-student relation. The study is focused on the syllabuses of the discipline of Natural Sciences of Years 5/6 and 7, and is theoretically based on Bernstein's theory of pedagogic discourse. The results showed that there are differences between the 1975 and the 1991 reforms, which reveal a change from a more self-regulative theory of instruction to a mixed theory of instruction. This is particularly evident for Years 5/6 of schooling.     

Is Anyone Out There Listening?

It is aprimary premise of pediatrics that a healthy childhood lifestyle provides a strong base for adult health. A child raised in a healthy environment who follows a healthy lifestyle is more likely to become a healthy adult. Thus, if the factors that predispose a child to marginal health can be modified, then both the child and the resultant grown adult will benefit. This review seeks to provide answers to the question of whether the physical activity patterns of many children in the western world today predispose them to a greater risk of skeletal fragility and osteoporosis later in life.     

Is There a Need for Transcendental Arguments in Discourse Ethics?

In this essay, James Scott Johnston examines Jürgen Habermas's transcendental justification of his discourse theory of morality. According to Johnston, the application of Habermas's theory to educational issues often assumes that this justification is a cogent one. However, if the theory is to provide reasoned and appropriate guidance for educators, the justification of discourse ethics requires closer examination. Johnston argues that Habermas's so‐called “weak” transcendental approach is in fact unsustainable because it fails to reconcile two conflicting schools of philosophical thought: Kant's transcendental idealism and George Herbert Mead's social pragmatism. Johnston concludes that a more plausible justification of the discourse ethical project can be achieved by rejecting Habermas's Kantianism and appealing solely to Mead's social pragmatic conception of rationality.     

Is There a Double Standard of Aging?: Older Men and Women and Ageism

This study was designed to determine current young adults' attitudes toward older adults and to explore, more specifically, whether they hold different attitudes towards older men and women. An additional objective was to examine the association between knowledge of aging processes and attitudes towards older adults. A total of 405 (210 males, 195 females) undergraduate students at a small Midwestern university were assessed on their attitudes toward an older male and an older female and on their knowledge of aging. Data analyses revealed that the participants showed more positive, rather than negative, attitudes towards older adults, and they rated older women significantly more positively than older men. No relationship was found between knowledge of aging processes and attitudes toward aging. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

“Swedishness” as a Norm for Learners of English in Swedish Schools: A Study of National and Local Objectives and Criteria in Compulsory Schools

This paper examines whether the Swedish steering documents for English-language education are ethnically biased, that is, whether Swedish culture and language or “Swedishness” are used as norms when teaching and assessing students. To examine whether such bias exists, the central curricula and syllabi from 1994 and 2000, as well as local steering documents, work plans, and grading criteria for English language studies from 85 Swedish compulsory schools, have been analyzed. The analysis of the steering documents focuses on what they say about grammar, translation, and intercultural understanding. The results of the study suggest that, in many cases, the starting point for schools is still Swedish culture and “Swedishness.” The most noteworthy result of the study is that nearly one third of the schools had objectives and criteria for English language studies that use the Swedish language and Swedish conditions as their reference point. This gives students with Swedish backgrounds better preconditions for attaining the learning goals and receiving better grades in English then those of students with other cultural backgrounds.     

Longitudinal Analysis of Intrinsic Motivation and Competence Beliefs: Is There a Relation Over Time?

The present study explored whether competence beliefs and intrinsic motivation for different school domains show reciprocal effects over time. A sample of 670 German elementary school pupils (M= 8.8 years, SD= 0.51) was followed over 1 year. At 4 measurement occasions, children completed self-reports on their intrinsic motivation and competence beliefs for math, German, and school in general. Latent growth models revealed that intrinsic motivation and competence beliefs decreased over time. Comparing correlational and cross-lagged structural equation models yielded only weak evidence for cross-lagged influences between the 2 constructs. Results suggest that the developmental curves of competence beliefs and intrinsic motivation might be less inextricably interwoven than frequently assumed.