“Nothing is impossible”: characteristics of Hispanic females participating in an informal STEM setting

Cultural Studies of Science Education - Factors that influence the underrepresentation of females in STEM careers begin early in childhood when gender biases and stereotypes emerge. Stereotypes...     

The innovation of Ontario full-day kindergarten educator teams: have they reproduced the split systems of care and education?

This study investigated the implementation of a full-day kindergarten programme in Ontario, Canada. Key to the implementation of this programme has been a new kind of educator team consisting of a certified teacher and a registered early childhood educator and a complementary partnership in which each team member contributes equally. Our research examined team members’ perceptions and practices related to their roles and responsibilities. Findings suggest that the care work for which early childhood educators are disproportionally responsible is accorded less value and status than the work of educating children. Implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the care/education split, the social reproduction of care work and social inequities.     

Attitudes of Parents Toward War Play in Young Children

A questionnaire on attitudes toward war play was given to 316 Italian parents and 84 English parents of children aged 2 to 6 years. In both cultures, boys were significantly more likely to engage in war play, either social or solitary—most commonly weapon play, but also play with combat figures and acting out a combat role. Parental attitudes, television, and peers (including older siblings), appeared as common sources of influence. Parents expressed a range of views about how to respond to war play, varying from discouraging it (more common if their children did not engage in war play), to allowing it with limits, to allowing it unconditionally. There was more of a consensus that war toys should not be allowed in school and that playgroup supervisors and teachers should try to turn war play toward more constructive ends. Analysis of a range of attitudinal scales confirmed a general dimension of restrictiveness-permissiveness with regard to war play activities, linked to attitudes about rough-and-tumble play (R & T) and pretend play in the Italian sample but not in the English sample.     

Cultivation of science identity through authentic science in an urban high school classroom

This study examined how a contextually based authentic science experience affected the science identities of urban high school students who have been marginalized during their K-12 science education. We examined students’ perceptions of the intervention as an authentic science experience, how the experience influenced their science identity, as well as their perceptions about who can do science. We found that the students believed the experience to be one of authentic science, that their science identity was positively influenced by participation in the experience, and that they demonstrated a shift in perceptions from stereotypical to more diverse views of scientists. Implications for science education are discussed.     

Framing equity through a closer examination of critical science agency

Cultural Studies of Science Education - Science for all has been touted as the primary path to equity in science education in the USA. We argue that without attention to the power imbalances that...     

Primary Teachers' and Students' Understanding of School Situated Design in Canada and England

Research in Science Education - How do teachers in primary schools translate curriculum requirements for teaching design, within technology frameworks, in their primary classrooms? We call...     

Exploring English and Spanish rhyme awareness and beginning sound segmentation skills in prekindergarten Spanish-speaking English Learners

Twenty-five 4- and 5-year-old Spanish-speaking English Learners (ELs) were tested in order to compare their English and Spanish performance in two phonological awareness skills: Rhyme awareness (RA) and beginning sound segmentation (BSS). The children had received formal instruction of phonological awareness, with an emphasis on RA and BSS for 1 year and in English only, using the Opening the World of Learning curriculum (Schickedanz & Dickinson, 2005). The results showed that the children scored higher on the English BSS than on the English RA tests (p < .001), even though RA is generally considered to be an earlier developing skill than BSS among English-monolingual children. No significant difference was found between the English BSS and Spanish BSS tests despite the fact that the children had received English-only instruction in these phonological awareness skills for 1 year. The results are discussed in terms of the possible impact of the similarities and differences between the Spanish and English linguistic structures on the learning and cross-linguistic transfer of phonological awareness skills in young Spanish-speaking ELs.     

Food Safety Training Needs of Child Care Providers

Millions of children are cared for in child care centers or family day care homes. The care environment can be a significant source of foodborne pathogens if proper food safety practices are not followed by caregivers. To decrease children's risk of foodborne illness, caregivers must know and apply safe food handling practices. To identify what care providers need to know about safe food handling, and how they want to learn, needs assessment research was conducted with a random sample of child care centers and family day care homes in Michigan (n=335). Research Findings. Results indicate that persons who care for young children in licensed centers or homes wanted to know more about the relationship between food and illness. Specifically, they wanted information about what causes food to become unsafe and how to prevent foodborne illness in the child care environment. Providers in both centers and homes preferred print materials (booklets, fact sheets, and newsletters) to videotapes, audiotapes, workshops, teleconferences, or an informational hotline. Implications for Practice. Developing and providing food safety booklets, newsletters, and/or fact sheets which include application-oriented and understand- able food safety information consistent with licensing regulations could reduce the risk of contracting foodborne illness of young children cared for in child care centers or day care homes.     

Student reflections on choosing to study science post-16

The research recounted in this paper was designed primarily to attempt to understand the reasons for the low uptake of the natural sciences beyond compulsory education in England. This has caused widespread concern within governmental quarters, university science departments and the scientific community as a whole. This research explored the problem from the position of the students who recently made their choices. The student voices were heard through a series of interviews which highlighted the complexities of the process of post-16 choice. Social theories of pedagogy and identity, such as those of Basil Bernstein, were used in an analysis of the interview texts. Dominant themes used by the students in rationalising their post-16 subject choice related to their past pedagogical experiences, school discourses of differentiation and the students’ notions of their future educational and occupational pathways. This study provides no simple solutions but highlights the importance of student voice to our understandings of what influences subject choice at this critical post-16 stage.