Technologies in contexts:: implications for teacher education

This paper discusses the interaction among school and university contexts, instruction, and individual practice that occurs as telecommunications technology is integrated into teacher education programs. Data from a series of studies of such integration within one university are presented and discussed. A model to guide future research is proposed.     

Keyword: Didactics in Europe

Despite seeing great diversity in the European didactic landscape, the author searches for ground that is common to this diversity. He looks back to the ??Pampaedia?? of the founding father of didactics, Jan Amos Comenius, and attempts a constructive new start with the so-called didactic triangle in order to satisfy the scientific quest for certainty and security. Yet neither approach is convincing. The author therefore searches for elements that can be used in the construction of a future systematic approach by taking Gérard Sensevy??s Joint Action Theory in Didactics as an example. Application of this theory to the analysis and evaluation of four national reports on didactics, i.e. on Sweden, the UK, Spain, and Russia, runs into difficulties, although the reports yield interesting information for the delineation of comparative didactics. The Joint Action Theory is compared with the dialectical didactic theory of Lothar Klingberg, opening up further perspectives for comparative didactics in Europe. The four national reports, the systematic didactics of Sensevy and the example of dialectical analysis help identify the common ground for the future of European didactics.     

Multum in parvo: Paperbacks in speech

Women process information about support situations and messages more extensively than men, but little is known about whether these gender differences reflect underlying differences in processing ability, motivation, or both. Two studies examined information processing by men and women in both relatively less serious and more serious situations. Participants in Study 1 responded to more and less serious experimental scenarios, whereas participants in Study 2 reported on a recent bereavement situation. In both studies, the pattern of observed gender differences was most consistent with women possessing both greater ability and greater motivation to process information about support situations and messages.     

Motivation in Mathematics: Goals Reflected in Emotions

Students in a mathematics classroom are motivated to do many things, not only the ones we expect them to do. In order to understand student behaviour in classrooms we need to increase our understanding of what motivation is and how it is regulated. Two issues relevant to a critique of mainstream motivation research need consideration: (a) the importance of the unconscious in motivation and (b) focusing on motivational states and processes rather than traits. In the present paper, motivation is conceptualised as a potential to direct behaviour through the mechanisms that control emotion. As a potential, motivation cannot be directly observed. It is observable only as it manifests itself in affect and cognition, for example as beliefs, values and emotional reactions. This potential is structured through needs and goals. Based on this view of motivation and the author's earlier studies, three aspects of motivation regulation are discussed. Primarily, goals are derived from needs: in learning situations, the psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and social belonging are the most significant determinants of goal choices. As a second aspect, this view accepts the influence of students' beliefs about the accessibility of different goals. As a third aspect, the influence of automatic emotional reactions for goal regulation will be discussed. The case of Frank will be used 1) to illustrate how motivation can be inferred from different kinds of data and 2) as an example of how conflicting goals lead to non-straightforward self-regulation.     

Ireland: The Crisis in Irish

The inclusion of Irish as a curriculum subject has led to a dichotomy of views amongst academics in Ireland. National School pupils spend up to eight hours a week learning Irish, and it is impossible to matriculate in any of the National University Colleges without Irish, and yet "compulsory" Irish was supposed to have been abolished by the Minister for Education in 1973. But access to certain professions such as teaching and the law would be extremely difficult without a knowledge of Irish. There is a constant demand for bilingual secretaries and to be able to work in Irish can add at least £1,000 per annum on to the value of a secretary. Newspapers find the supply of journalists able to report through Irish is very small, so a knowledge of the language can be a distinct advantage in getting a job.     

Speech in the senate: 1978

The third of three studies spanning 20 years, this study asked senators to answer questions regarding the influence of floor and committee speeches as well as interpersonal communication on the passage of legislation. In addition, the senators were asked to identify the factors contributing to a senator's influence and the most effective floo speaker. The use of speech writers was also included along with an analysis of the reasons given by senators who declined to participate in the study.     

Cyber-bullying: the situation in Ireland

This paper reports on the first major survey of cyber-bullying undertaken in Ireland. While preliminary results have been published they were based on a smaller and incomplete sample of 12–16 year olds living in Ireland. The preliminary results addressed the incidence level of cyber-bullying and that of the different subcategories of cyber-bullying (text message bullying, the sending of pictures and video clips via mobile telephones, threatening calls, emails, instant messages and abuse via social networking sites and chat rooms). However, they omitted to provide a comprehensive picture of the views held by the participants to cyber-bullying. Thus the aim of the present paper is to report more thoroughly on the thoughts and feelings that students have to cyber-bullying and the ways in which they cope when subjected to cyber-bullying. The objective is to gain an understanding of cyber-bullying from the perspective of students in order that effective strategies can be developed to prevent and counter cyber-bullying. Across the sample (n = 3004), 13.9% reported that they had been cyber-bullied within the last couple of months and 8.6% confessed to cyber-bullying others. While 29.8% were bullied both offline and online and 24.4% bullied others online and offline, the fact that one in five students were found to be involved either as a cyber-bully, cyber-victim or both reflects that cyber-bullying is a cause of great concern to students, parents and teachers due to the emotional and behavioural problems experienced by them as a result of cyber-bullying, and one that requires urgent action. The views the students hold on cyber-bullying and their implications for prevention and intervention are discussed.     

Motivated learning: bias in appraisals

The study of motivation has been shadowed by a paradox. Common observations and teacher reports lead to the conclusion that high grade-point average is linked to high motivation and commitment. There is a lot of empirical evidence both from the laboratory and from classroom settings that illustrates the role played by affect in cognitive functioning. However, up to now motivational variables have failed to achieve a predictive value in learning outcome and in grade-point average mainly because these variables have been restricted to value-related information about the tasks and to the pupil's perception of his chances of success.A framework is proposed in which learning outcome is conceptualized both as a learning experience associated with positive and negative emotions and as an increment in knowledge and skill. At any one time, learners pursue two major goals, viz. gaining more proficiency and skill and maintaining or restoring their well-being. Empirical evidence is presented to support the view that meaningful learning should be conceptualized both in terms of a pupil's (1) competence for learning and (2) satisfaction with the learning opportunity.     

Commentary: Childbirth Education in Iran

With regard to childbirth, the role of every health-care system is to improve maternity care as well as the birth experience of women and their family members. Despite many efforts to improve maternity care in the Islamic Republic of Iran, the nation's childbirth care still faces a tremendous amount of unnecessary intervention and, consequently, a high rate of cesarean births. This article describes the strengths and weaknesses of Iran's maternity-care system and childbirth education in light of evidence-based practice.     

Critical Students: breakthroughs in learning

ABSTRACT

Alienative learning is a common feature in schools. Approaches aiming to combat it, such as child‐centred progressivism or critical pedagogy, do not appear to have been very productive as yet in the empowerment of students. Alienative learning, in fact, seems set to increase in the drift to intensification. This paper takes a different approach, seeking to identify instances of empowerment that have actually occurred, and examining their properties. Examples include moments or periods of profound insight; the cultivation of marginality; positive trauma; communitas; and social outrage. These are all potentially radicalising states. Among the factors for achieving breakthroughs is the use of pupils as ‘critical others’. An example is given involving some children with special needs, wherein the learning and development of all, including teachers, was enhanced.     

Oral communication: Studies in listening

An area of research frequently neglected by the audio-visual specialist is that of listening. This article is designed to fill the gap and to present a systematic review of the major studies in the field.     

SPECIAL ISSUE COMMENTARY: Consultation in the Gifted-Education Arena: Old Wine in a New Skin

In this commentary, I provide a brief overview of definitions and types of consultation, as well as a discussion of the distinction between consultation and collaboration. I then apply the information from this review to the four articles on consulting about gifted and talented students. Using Caplan's framework, I argue that these papers contain examples of both case and administrative consultations, and that the focus on students who are gifted and talented takes consultation from a preventative intervention to a promotive one, thus expanding the applicability of the process of consultation. However, it is important to remember that consultation as it is defined in the literature has certain specific features. Therefore, simply labeling oneself as a consultant does not necessarily mean that one is engaging in consultation.     

Lost in translation: methodological considerations in cross-cultural research

In cross-cultural child development research there is often a need to translate instruments and instructions to languages other than English. Typically, the translation process focuses on ensuring linguistic equivalence. However, establishment of linguistic equivalence through translation techniques is often not sufficient to guard against validity threats. In addition to linguistic equivalence, functional equivalence, cultural equivalence, and metric equivalence are factors that need to be considered when research methods are translated to other languages. This article first examines cross-cultural threats to validity in research. Next, each of the preceding factors is illustrated with examples from the literature. Finally, suggestions for incorporating each factor into research studies of child development are given.     

Digital inclusion in Chile: Internet in rural schools

This paper analyzes the teacher's contribution to improving digital inclusion in Chilean rural schools, using a multidimensional definition of the digital divide. Data was obtained from interviews and surveys applied to teachers and students from 145 rural schools. Results show that teachers function as gatekeepers. They do not teach students how to use ICT explicitly, but when teachers have high expectations, skills and technology access, this leads to conditions for students learning how to use ICT. Finally, the data contributes to a better understanding of the new role that teachers and schools play in rural areas in terms of social and symbolic integration.     

Spacing Herself: Women in education

This article is concerned with the problematic status of the female self, seen from the perspective of women in education. Studying women's autobiographical writings, the author uses a genealogical approach to interrogate the historical and cultural conditions of the construction of the female self. The article looks specifically at those practices women have used to act upon themselves and create a lifestyle of their own, technologies of the female self. Space is important in women's attempts for self-assertion, and the explorations of this article focus on the ways women in education have been striving to negotiate space of their own, within and beyond gendered social structures and dominant discourses of womanhood.     

Being human: Transdisciplinarity in nursing

Nursing as an academic discipline typically draws on a wide range of other disciplines. There is debate about whether this is a sound basis for the discipline, or whether nursing needs to develop a distinctive body of knowledge. The concept of transdisciplinarity, though little discussed in nursing, is of considerable value in understanding nursing as an academic discipline, and provides a possible resolution to the debate above. In order to get a better understanding of what transdisciplinarity might mean in a nursing context, we conducted a qualitative interview-based study of faculty in a UK school of nursing. The debate about nursing’s status as a discipline was reproduced by the interviewees. Despite these differences, a degree of consensus emerged about the concept of nursing as a transdisciplinary discipline. Transdisciplinarity in nursing offers an overarching approach that is applicable to a broader range of disciplines. This approach offers the possibility of moving beyond some of the major debates in nursing as an academic discipline. This broad and pragmatic approach grounds nursing knowledge in nursing practice, which means that as a transdisciplinary discipline it does not overstate its claims to knowledge, but instead explicitly acknowledges tacit and ‘craftsmanship’-type forms of knowledge.     

Ethnopsychiatry: Counselling immigrants in France

The plight of immigrants in France and the United States bear a striking similarity. This article highlights the struggle of immigrants in the French society and the discrimination they face. A French academic discipline calledethnopsychiatry has arisen to help immigrants in France. It appears to be very similar in purpose to cross-cultural counselling, but draws more heavily in practice from traditional healing techniques used in Africa. The pioneeringstrides of ethnopsychiatry in the cross-cultural counselling paradigm are discussed.     

Nepal: positive trends in ARH

This article records the Nepalese Government's adoption of a strategy, which is consistent with Nepal's second long-term health plan (1997-2017). The primary health care system would deliver an integrated reproductive health package, which gives emphasis on gender perspective, community participation, equitable access and intersectoral collaboration. In addition, some of the appropriate interventions being pursued are the formulation of national policies, provision of counseling and sex education and information, supplying contraceptives, and delivering youth-friendly reproductive health services. However, serious problems hindering efforts to implement effective adolescent reproductive health programs include limited access to food and health care; high infant and maternal mortality rate due to early and frequent pregnancies; low level of contraceptive use and increasing frequency of sexually transmitted diseases cases among adolescents; and low level of literacy, particularly among girls.     

Round girls in square computers:

What is the first step beyond this dreaming activity? Understanding where future research in this area could move is an excellent extension of this work. Is the distancing experienced by girls’ interactions with computer software oozing beyond the borders of the screen, beyond what is inside the computer? Might it be that the distancing is also a function of the external manifestation of the computer itself the way it looks on the outside? We don’t know how important the physical structure of the computer is. This is an area worthy of more rigorous research. Our work focuses on the actual, unalterable hardware facets of computers from the late 1990’s the outside 6 and suggests alternative constructions that might make computers more approachable for and appealing to girls. But we don’t know if indeed such computers would be more appealing, nor do we know what the interest or impact of more essentialized recent computers such as the Barbie and Hot Wheels computers are. Rigorous qualitative research into the adoption tendencies and impact on gender relations of the introduction of such essentialized products needs to be accomplished. The original design of the computer was based not on marketing needs or perceptions, nor on progressive concepts of equity, but rather on functionality for those who created the hardware itself. As a result, it is likely to be quite appealing to the designers, but may be less so to those who were outside this creative process. The importance of resting the design decisions with users has been the subject of several important texts on developing computer systems including Norman’s Design of Everyday Things (1988) and also Schuler & Namioka’s Participatory Design: Principles and Practices (1993).