Determinants of teacher work: Some causal complications

It has been argued (Grant & Sleeter, 1985) that the form and content of teacher work is as much shaped by teachers themselves as by situational constraints. This runs counter to the dominant view in recent relevant literature. However Grant and Sleeter's argument is flawed in three ways. It ignores the indirect but very significant causal role of situational constraints in determining teacher work. It deploys an underdeveloped concept of teachers as agents. And the school which is the object of Grant and Sleeter's empirical study is not obviously one in which all causally significant situational constraints have been lessened.     

Some aspects of convexity

Conclusion In conclusion, we find that the Krein-Milman theorem is a simply stated and geometrically pleasing fact, which has manifold applications. It is also a powerful theoretical result, and to see its full strength, it should be stated as a result about compact convex sets in a general (possibly infinite-dimensional)locally convex topological space. The interested reader is directed to such standard texts as [2] for further details.     

Some psychological aspects of multilingual education

After pointing out the formative aims of multilingual education and the differences and similarities between the acquisition of the first (native) language and of the second language, the author examines cognitive development through the first and the second language in a bilingual programme. A summary of recent investigations on the subject is presented.However, the central concern of the paper lies in the proposal of a theoretical explanation of the facts. The Glossodynamic Model of language learning developed by R. Titone in the early Seventies is called for as a basis for explaining how the child's cognitive and affective development is enhanced by bilingual stimulation. The core of the Glossodynamic Model is constituted by the emphasis on the integrating, unifying, and propulsive power of the individual learner's conscious Ego, in a very general and deep meaning, not in the psycho-analytic sense only.Bilingualism appears as a sum of personalized stimulations. There is no doubt that the personality of the bilingual child not only does not suffer from the impact between L1 and L2, but rather widens its horizons and strengthens its power of adaptation to the world. A sufficient body of data supplies this conviction with a high degree of probability.

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Zusammenfassung Nach Herausarbeiten der Bildungsziele mehrsprachiger Erziehung und der Unterschiede und Ähnlichkeiten zwischen der Aneignung der ersten (Mutter-) Sprache und der Zweitsprache, überprüft der Autor die kognitive Entwicklung durch die erste und die Zweitsprache in einem zweisprachigen Programm. Dann folgt ein Überblick über kürzlich durchgeführte Untersuchungen dieses Gegenstandes.Das Hauptanliegen des Aufsatzes ist jedoch eine theoretische Erklärung der Tatsachen. Das von R. Titone zu Beginn der siebziger Jahre entwickelte Glossodynamic Model (sprachdynamische Modell) wird als Grundlage herangezogen, um zu erklären, wie des Kindes kognitive und affektive Entwicklung durch zweisprachige Anregung gefördert wird. Den Kern dieses Modells bildet das Schwergewicht auf der integrierenden, vereinheitlichenden und antreibenden Macht des bewussten Ichs des einzelnen Lernenden in einem sehr allgemeinen und tiefen Sinn, nicht allein im psychoanalytischen.Zweisprachigkeit erscheint als eine Summe personifizierter Anregungen. Kein Zweifel besteht, dass die Persönlichkeit des zweisprachigen Kindes nicht nur nicht unter dem Zusammenprall der ersten Sprache mit der Zweitsprache leidet, sondern vielmehr seinen Horizont erweitert und eine bessere Anpassungsfähigkeit an die Welt gewinnt. Eine genügende Anzahl an Daten schenkt dieser Überzeugung ein grosses Mass an Wahrscheinlichkeit.

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Résumé Cet article traite de quelques aspects psychologiques de l'éducation plurilingue. Il est axé sur la relation existant entre l'éducation bilingue précoce et le développement de la cognition.Après avoir attiré l'attention du lecteur sur l'intention formative de l'éducation plurilingue, puis montré les différences et les analogies entre l'acquisition de la première langue (maternelle) et celle de la seconde langue, l'auteur examine le développement de la cognition en L1 et L2 dans un programme bilingue. Il présente ensuite un résumé des récentes investigations sur ce sujet.Toutefois l'intérêt essentiel de l'article réside dans la théorie avancée par l'auteur pour expliquer les faits. Titone se réfère au Modèle glossodynamique d'étude des langues, qu'il a conçu au début des années 70 pour démontrer comment la stimulation bilingue accroît le développement affectif et cognitif de l'enfant. Le trait caractéristique du Modèle glossodynamique consiste dans l'accent mis sur le pouvoir moteur, unificateur et intégrateur de l'Ego conscient de chaque débutant; ce terme étant pris dans un sens très large et pas seulement psychanalytique.Le bilinguisme apparaît comme une somme de stimulations personnalisées. Il ne fait aucun doute que la personnalité de l'enfant bilingue, non seulement ne souffre pas de l'impact entre L1 et L2 mais qu'au contraire son horizon s'en trouve élargi et son pouvoir d'adaptation au monde environmant fortifié.Le faisceau des données fournies à l'appui de cette thèse lui confèrent un maximum de crédibilité.

     

Some features of causal reasoning: common sense and physics teaching

The idea of causality is central in science and has long given rise to debate among philosophers and scientists. While the tendency to avoid causality seems to have become dominant in science and philosophy, research in science education has shown the strong presence in common reasoning of causal explanations, often conceived as a ‘mechanism’ capable of accounting for physical transformations. Some researchers have proposed using this common causal reasoning as a basis for teaching–learning sequences, especially in electricity and mechanics. This paper analyses some features of causal reasoning used in physics by students, using questionnaires and interviews involving students and teachers. This study has shown three aspects which are related to one another: a confusion between efficient and contingent causes, between the conditions of occurrence of a phenomenon and the cause actually producing it; a tendency to ‘displace’ causes, skipping intermediate objects; and a difficulty in connecting local causes and global effects. The paper highlights the differences between common reasoning and scientific usage, and their effect on learning. In fact, these trends of reasoning must be taken into account in teaching: they should be considered not only as creating an obstacle to learning physics, but also as resources at the learner’s disposal.     

The analysis of causal models: Some remarks on new techniques

The theme of this article is the convergence between sociological reflection and technical developments in quantitative analysis. The author shows how the use of techniques based upon the general model of regression forces further reflection on phenomena studied, each of the techniques presented implying postulates about the dynamics of the variables measured or about the influence of variables that are not measured. Taking ecological analysis and contextual analysis as a starting point, the author introduces path analysis showing a progression from the former to the latter models in the convergence between techniques and sociological reflection.