“NAEYC’s Key Attributes of Quality Preschool Programs” Applied to the Jordanian Kindergarten Context

Jordan’s education system is currently undergoing rigorous and comprehensive reform processes that focus on improving the status of educational policies and experiences for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Kindergarten education in Jordan has been dominated until recently, by the private-sector. For the past decade, the Ministry of Education has taken initiative to provide government-funded kindergarten programs. The main objective of this research was to evaluate program practices implemented by private and public-sector programs and examine their alignment with Developmentally Appropriate Practices. Using NAEYC’s “Top 10 Signs of a Good Kindergarten Classroom” as evaluative guidelines, observational data was collected from 118 classrooms (50-private, 68-public). Demographic data were also obtained from classroom teachers; level of education, specialty, and years of experience. The results of the analysis revealed significant differences in application of the 10 NAEYC guidelines between public and private-sector programs. Ministry of Education kindergarten classroom practices were found to be closely aligned to best practices compared to private-sector programs. Also, teachers with bachelor’s degrees and those with early childhood education backgrounds outperformed their counterparts in the application of Developmentally Appropriate Practices. Years of experience yielded no significant results for this sample of teachers. Reflecting on the results of this study, several recommendations were posed.     

Job Satisfaction Among Jordan’s Kindergarten Teachers: Effects of Workplace Conditions and Demographic Characteristics

The main objective of this study was to examine the job satisfaction levels of Jordanian kindergarten teachers in relation to work-related dimensions and socio-demographic variables. The sample consisted of 264 randomly selected teachers working in private kindergartens in Amman. To meet the study’s objectives, a two part questionnaire was developed soliciting information about (1) teachers’ age, marital status, and level of education, and (2) level of satisfaction with the physical environment, school relations, working conditions, children’s behavior, and parent participation. The findings of this study revealed that Jordan’s kindergarten teachers experience an overall average level of job satisfaction. While teachers were highly satisfied with their kindergarten classroom physical environments and their relationships within the school, teachers reported average satisfaction levels with their working conditions, children’s social behaviors, and parent participation. Significant relations were found between teachers’ personal-related dimensions and job satisfaction. Several recommendations are made including a call for regulating the working conditions in the kindergarten private sector in accordance with existing international policies that promote teachers’ job satisfaction.     

The scholarship of teaching and learning: challenges for Malaysian academics

This paper explores the adoption of the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) by 10 Malaysian university academics. SoTL was part of a pioneering sector-wide initiative for improving teaching and learning. The qualitative study showed that there had been no true learning phase for SoTL because academics had high expectations of rapid success in their new research area, including journal publication. Most of their peers did not understand or value SoTL and so SoTL researchers established minority self-sustaining groups across disciplines and universities. SoTL brought new ways of thinking about teaching that were transformational for the teacher but not necessarily welcomed by the students. Students resisted radical change, and teachers were drawn back to educational practices they no longer valued. SoTL was experienced in a hierarchical educational culture where questioning of self and others was difficult and this hindered teacher development. We conclude with recommendations about realistic expectations and the importance of social learning for those considering SoTL for academic development.     

New perspectives on the positioning of parents in children’s bullying at school

This article explores the subject of parents with respect to children’s bullying at school. The overarching claim is that parental agency and positions on children’s bullying at school are produced and made possible by an apparatus of multiple, concurrent forces that provide poor conditions for a constructive partnership between parents and schools in cases of bullying. This research adds to the existing literature in the field by suggesting that the connections between schools, parents and their children’s social behaviour at school must be seen as complexly entangled and involving a range of forces at local, societal and political levels. Furthermore, based on an emergent research design, the article contributes to the discussion of post-qualitative research, drawing upon varied, qualitative empirical material and analytically experimenting with combining Adele Clarke’s idea of situational analysis and Karen Barad’s concepts of intra-action and apparatus.     

Supervisee Incompatibility and Its Influence on Triadic Supervision: An Examination of Doctoral Student Supervisors' Perspectives

A qualitative study was conducted to explore supervisors' experiences of supervisee incompatibility in triadic supervision. In‐depth interviews were completed with 9 doctoral student supervisors in a counselor education program, and a whole‐text analysis generated 3 categories. Supervisee incompatibility took a wide variety of forms and negatively affected the content of supervision, including its progress and productivity. It also negatively influenced the process of supervision, including the feedback and support offered by either the supervisor or the supervisees and the general atmosphere of supervision meetings. Implications of the findings for counseling supervision and for further research are also addressed.     

贝雷帽逸事

贝雷帽,是英文＂Beret＂的音译,亦称画家帽。这是一种平顶的圆形无帽檐儿软帽,款式无男女之分,戴的时候软顶经常偏向一边。贝雷帽是很多军队和警察部队的制服,在有些国家甚至是精锐部队的标志之一。关于贝雷帽,可是有很多有趣的逸事呢,你想知道吗？     

The Authority of objects: From regime Change to Paradigm Shift

Abstract Objects have never been quite as bluntly material as is conventionally claimed. Nothing is just a thing. We carve objects out of a blurry reality as we need them, creating narratives that adhere to them in greater or lesser degree. Traditional museums were held to be “about objects”—which were esteemed as material bearers of accrued significance. Why then the current disputes among museum professionals and observers who question the role of objects? Museums have always been about ideas and about objects. They foster human and physical interactions in which neither persons nor things take precedence.     

A Model for Using Triadic Supervision in Counselor Preparation Programs

The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (2001) has approved the use of triadic supervision as an alternative to individual supervision in clinical instruction. However, literature describing this mode of supervision is very limited. A model for triadic supervision is described, including presession planning, in‐session strategies, and administrative considerations and supervisee evaluation. An evaluation of the model from 2 recent studies is also discussed, and recommendations are provided for using triadic supervision in counselor preparation.