Field Instruction and the Mature Student

Abstract

As increasing numbers of mature students enter schools of social work, it is a challenge and an obligation for field instructors to discover ways to recruit and sustain them in the educational endeavor. Building upon three theoretical perspectives-Freire's pedagogy of the oppressed, Knowles's andragogy, and Schon's reflective learning and teaching, this paper highlights ways in which field instructors can build upon the strengths of mature students to enhance their development as professional social workers. It discusses “parallel process”, “learning styles”, and “contracting” as proactive strategies to fully engage mature students in attaining a graduate degree.     

COMPASS-AIM: A University/P–12 Partnership Innovation for Continuous Improvement

COMPASS-AIM is a set of processes and tools used by participants in a research–practice partnership (RPP) to improve organizational capacities and individual and team competencies for organizational learning and improvement. The “COMPASS” team includes teams of teachers and school leaders who work with a university researcher and expert professional developers. Improvement teams begin by COMParing practices in their own setting to those in higher performing schools identified through research. The next few phases involve Assessing priorities based on those comparisons, Selecting levers (i.e., drivers) to improve a priority area, and Setting a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound) goal or goals designed to address the priority area. Once a “COMPASS” team establishes a goal or goals, the process has it take AIM at Action planning, Implementation, and Monitoring progress through periodic “check the pulse” meetings. Throughout these phases, participants use self-assessment tools, case studies, and a variety of other research reports to inform their work. This research utilization-focused approach bridges research and practice, while accommodating for variability in desired outcomes, affordances, and constraints for change in different school and district contexts.     

A Visit to “The Clearing” and “Warrior Falls”: In Search of Brave and Beyond Spaces for Religious Education

Abstract

This article seeks to address the question: “How can religious educators learn from those who have been marginalized and whose voices are not usually heard because of the hegemony of whiteness?” My primary sources are scenes from the work of two U.S. black creatives. Specifically, I examine the “Clearing” scene in Toni Morrison’s 1987 Pulitzer Prize–winning fiction novel Beloved and the “Warrior Falls” scenes in Black Panther, a 2018 film co-written and directed by Ryan Coogler. I draw attention to their common themes and their implications for approaches to religious education that can de-center white normativity.     

An Appraisal of the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal

Abstract

Successful prediction of achievement involves, as a minimum, selecting significant variables, measuring them accurately, and finding a way of combining them to account for maximum achievement variance. Extending earlier work, this report is of two studies-one on developing a refined combination of predictors including ability, “likability,” and “motivation”; and the other aimed at validating this multiple regression equation against actual school achievement, Prediction is in terms of whether students would fall in “good” or “poor” categories determined by dichotomizing the rank-ordered list of actual achievement at a grade point average of 3.33. The biserial r between the dichotomized variable of actual achievement and predicted achievement scores is .882, which is highly significant. The importance and shortcomings of the method are discussed.     

Incidence,type and intensity of abuse in street children in India

ObjectiveThe aims of this cross-sectional survey were to examine the prevalence, type and intensity of abuse in street children in Jaipur city, India.MethodBased on purposive random sampling, 200 street children, inclusive of equal number of boys and girls, were selected from the streets of Jaipur city, India, and administered an in-depth interview schedule which included five areas of abuse, namely, “general abuse,” “health abuse,” “verbal abuse,” “physical abuse,” and “psychological abuse.” Data was interpreted using percentages, t-test and correlations.ResultsStreet children reported experiences of abuse in all the five areas under study. Larger numbers of children (61.8%) scored in the “moderate” category of abuse while 36.6% children indicated abuse in “severe” and “very severe” categories on the intensity of abuse. Highest mean scores were obtained on the “verbal” and “psychological” area of abuse. Gender differences were significant in health and overall abuse, indicating boys to be significantly more abused than girls. There were significant positive correlations of abuse with increasing “age” and “income” of street children; and the occurrence of “multi-type” maltreatment and neglect in street children was clearly present.ConclusionDifferent forms of abuse are prevalent in street children in India. This area of study needs attention both by the researchers and the social workers.Practice implicationschildren who are identified in severe and very severe categories of abuse should be worked with in a follow up study with the help of governmental and nongovernmental agencies working in the field for child welfare.     

Towards a philosophy of equity in educational effectiveness research: moving from utilitarianism to a Rawlsian paradigm

ABSTRACT

The uses to which educational effectiveness research (EER) is put by policymakers cannot be blamed on the field, but it is apparent that it has become aligned with the utilitarianism of Western government policy and transnational bodies like the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). This alignment was not consciously adopted – it is more the case that in the absence of its own asserted philosophy, EER simply defaulted to that world view – but as the field shifts to a “dynamic” model and meta-syntheses, the need to reconsider the current paradigm becomes urgent. This paper attempts to reclaim the field philosophically for the academics who work in it and for the policymakers who rely on its science. It is beyond the scope of the paper to present a full comprehensive philosophy, but it describes, as a first step towards one, a new manifesto based on John Rawls’s work on justice as fairness.     

Repertoire of practice: Reconceptualizing instructor competency in contemporary adventure education

Abstract

Historically, adventure educators have used the metaphor of hard and soft skills to understand their practice: hard skills representing technical competencies, and soft skills representing interpersonal competencies. In light of current research and in the face of increasingly complex varieties of adventure practice, the categorization of skills into “hard” or “soft” may obscure important aspects of experiential learning and limit the development of an effective pedagogy for adventure education. This paper interrogates the hard/soft metaphor from various perspectives and offers “repertoire of practice” (Wenger, 1998) as a possible framework to further discuss instruction and learning in contemporary adventure education. ‘What we have learned to see something as, becomes in turn, the guide to our outward practical activity’. (Wartofsky, 1979, p. 207)     

What is meant by “rigour” in evidence-based educational policy and what’s so good about it?

ABSTRACT

Across the evidence-based policy and practice (EBPP) community, including education, randomised controlled trials (RCTS) rank as the most “rigorous” evidence for causal conclusions. This paper argues that that is misleading. Only narrow conclusions about study populations can be warranted with the kind of “rigour” that RCTs excel at. Educators need a great deal more information to predict if a programme will work for their pupils. It is unlikely that that information can be obtained with EBPP-style rigour. So, educators should not be overly optimistic about success with programmes that have been “rigorously” tested. I close with a plea to the EBPP community to take on the job of identifying and vetting the information educators need in practice.     

Associations between childhood maltreatment latent classes and eating disorder symptoms in a nationally representative sample of young adults in the United States

BackgroundChildhood maltreatment is associated with eating disorders, but types of childhood maltreatment often co-occur.ObjectiveTo examine associations between childhood maltreatment patterns and eating disorder symptoms in young adulthood.Participants and SettingData came from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (N = 14,322).MethodsLatent class analysis was conducted, using childhood physical neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse as model indicators. Logistic regression models adjusted for demographic covariates were conducted to examine associations between childhood maltreatment latent classes and eating disorder symptoms.ResultsIn this nationally representative sample of U.S. young adults (mean age = 21.82 years), 7.3% of participants reported binge eating-related concerns, 3.8% reported compensatory behaviors, and 8.6% reported fasting/skipping meals. Five childhood maltreatment latent classes emerged: “no/low maltreatment” (78.5% of the sample), “physical abuse only” (11.0% of the sample), “multi-type maltreatment” (7.8% of the sample), “physical neglect only” (2.1% of the sample), and “sexual abuse only” (0.6% of the sample). Compared to participants assigned to the “no/low maltreatment” class, participants assigned to the “multi-type maltreatment” class were more likely to report binge eating-related concerns (odds ratio = 1.97; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.52, 2.56) and fasting/skipping meals (OR = 1.85; 95% CI: 1.46, 2.34), and participants assigned to the “physical abuse only” class were more likely to report fasting/skipping meals (OR = 1.35; 95% CI: 1.04, 1.76).ConclusionsThis study provides evidence that distinct childhood maltreatment profiles are differentially associated with eating disorder symptoms. Individuals exposed to multi-type childhood maltreatment may be at particularly high risk for eating disorders.     

THE COLLABORATIVE COURSE: INNOVATIVE TEACHING AND LEARNING

Advances in information technology provide an opportunity for academic librarians and professors to offer innovative collaborative courses. The purpose of collaboration between a faculty member and a professional librarian is to integrate instruction in the course subject matter with bibliographic instruction. This integration promotes learning information acquisition skills and critical thinking, as well as the use of library resources. Research skills that students need in order to use contemporary information technology are included. The integration of those skills with the subject material of the course is described.

Two applications of freshman/sophomore level courses are discussed in the paper. Course rationale, topics, and course assignments are illustrated. It is argued that students must learn modern methods of acquiring information in order to make informed independent judgments and in order to achieve understanding in any particular discipline. Providing students with the skills required to achieve access to the ever‐widening body of available information is an essential requirement of contemporary liberal education. These skills are transferable to subsequent course work and will provide the basis for life‐long learning habits. The paper presents the argument that students' achievement of “library literacy” can be promoted by effective course collaboration between faculty members and professional librarians. Benefits and problems of such collaborative courses are also discussed.     

Theatre Online: The design and drama of e‐learning

Theatre and drama are areas of performance and inquiry which usually assume engagement and commitment to the ensemble or group process, supported by strong individual input. How can this “dynamic” be brought into a fully online distance course? In this article we analyse and reflect on the design and implementation of an online theatre studies course using theatrical metaphors to consider the mise‐en‐scène, students’ entrances and exits into the online space, their solo and ensemble work, and the importance of “teaching presence.” Attention is paid to fostering a “course dynamic” that echoes the social world of the learners. The action research undertaken indicates that a fully online course can be as engaging, interesting, and innovative as any course designed for more traditional settings.     

Lessons learned in an urban school: Preparing teachers for the educational village

Abstract

The disparities between the education of the rich and poor of this nation will continue to grow until educators are more willing and better prepared to work effectively in a variety of schools operating within a variety of models. Teacher education must prepare new teachers with open minds, willing hearts, and myriad strategies to address the realities, strengths, and critical needs of poor, culturally diverse urban schoolchildren and their families. This article describes an initiative that engages one teacher education program with an innovative urban “full‐service” elementary school in a joint effort to serve children and families and to provide a deeper and broader experience for preservice teachers. Education students complete traditional and nontraditional field work in a full‐service school with an “educational village” mission that extends from preschool to adult education.     

Wall displays-children‘s reactions

Our writers so far have emphasised the concepts, skills and values which can be fostered through topic work. Vivienne Little discusses the role of drama in encouraging historical understanding. She gives some lucid and expertly-documented examples of how children can be helped “to realise that people read about history books were real and had experiences and feelings …” Interestingly, her ideas on the importance of children's “play” and the centrality of narrative (“the essence of history”) extends points raised by Liz Thomson in the Spring issue of 3–13 .     

A critique of neo-Hahnian outdoor education theory. Part two: “The fundamental attribution error” in contemporary outdoor education discourse

Abstract

In the first of a two part series of articles I argued that “character building” in outdoor adventure education (OAE) is a flawed concept. This, the second article, examines the persistence of the idea of character building in OAE in the face of strong evidence that outdoor experiences cannot change personal traits. I examine how the “fundamental attribution error” can explain the paradox of (a) a shortage of evidence that adventure education “works” and (b) a widespread belief that it does “work”. I review the place of character building in research, and develop a critical reading of a representative adventure education text. I show how unchallenged dispositionist assumptions emerge in neo-Hahnian discourse. I explain how discarding the intuitively appealing but fallacious foundations of neo-Hahnism can clear the way for situationist approaches to outdoor education that bring much needed sensitivity to cultural, regional, historical, and social contexts.     

The Nacirema revisited: A pedagogical tool for teaching criminological theory

Modeled after Horace Miner's classic article “The Body Ritual of the Nacirema,” an explanation of modern day Nacirema undergraduates as “academic deviants” is used as a pedagogical tool for negotiating criminological theory. Similar to the question, why do people commit crime, this paper asks why are some students “criminal”, i.e., poor students?     

The Post-Modern Student

Abstract

The differences between present-day post-modern students and educators from older generations require changes in educational approach, but also challenge post-modern trends. Students' postmodern experiences may lead them to seek individuality among diverse sources of identity, seeing knowledge as a throwaway consumption good, and education promotes flexibility and “edutainment.” However, professional education trains people for structured managerialist organisations and the accumulation of shared professional knowledge. Social work education needs to be reframed as a process of emergence in which educators and students work jointly to create knowledge and identity in their professional area. To operate in an increasingly complex and changing society, students need to create a strong professional identity and learn how to transfer knowledge and values from one situation to another. In this way, social work education connects with the Danish managerial concept of “chaos pilots” in which students are prepared to deal with cultural and social change.     

Teaching Haiku Poetry in the Humanities Classroom

Abstract

The author reflects on his experience in the Center for Teaching and Curriculum at Emory, identifying six principles or problems that the current concern with teaching seems to embody. These principles are: the false opposition between “teaching” and “research,” a formulation that misrepresents the nature of academic work; the difficulty of evaluating the double allegiance of teaching—toward a discipline and toward its disciples; the paradox that although teaching is discipline-specific, meaningful discussion of it seems to take place across disciplines; the value of teachers' becoming students of another subject; the difficulty of proving that discussions of teaching lead to improvement; and the culture clash between faculty and administrators over the nature of the university within which teaching takes place.     

Stepping Off the Dance Floor for a View From the Balcony: Observations for Physical Education Teacher Education Programs in Interesting Times

Abstract

The theme of this article is adopted from the work of leadership experts Heifetz and Linsky, who described the need for organizational leaders to balance their time on the “dance floor” (managing tasks) with time viewing from the “balcony” (understanding the bigger picture). The physical education teacher education doctoral program faculty on many campuses would be well advised to periodically invest time distancing themselves from the daily rigors of research, teaching, and service to better understand the challenges and opportunities confronting their programs. Furthermore, faculty must be willing to critique their program and its strategic direction, eliminate ineffective practices that consume limited resources, and retain what is most important. The purpose of this article is to provide collective observations “from the balcony” for faculty working in physical education teacher education doctoral programs as a catalyst for discussion.     

“The Subjective Necessity”

Abstract

Several recent articles on social work education have advocated for the inclusion of literature in the curriculum. The authors argue that the value of including works of literature in the social work curriculum extends beyond specific content to the reading process itself. They assert that the subjective values inherent in works of literature or film, as opposed to textbooks, can pose a necessary challenge to empirical thinking by exposing students to a diversity of narratives and narrative forms and by introducing ambiguity, critical thinking, and interpretive freedom into the classroom. An argument is made for including literature in a process of learning that is “dialogic” rather than “monologic” and that, by its practice and methodology more than its content, embodies and transmits the professional values of social work.