‘The helping,the fixtures,the kits,the gear,the gum shields,the food,the snacks,the waiting,the rain,the car rides … ’: social class,parenting and children's organised activities

ABSTRACT

Class-related parenting cultures and ideologies have been of considerable interest to academics over the last two decades. Much of the research thus far has focused on exploring Annette Lareau's conceptualisations of ‘natural growth’ and ‘concerted cultivation’ and the implications for outcomes in relation to education. The focus of the present article is organised activities, which are a central but as yet relatively under-researched feature of middle-class parenting. The findings are based upon 73 semi-structured interviews with parents and children from 48 middle-class families living in and around a small city in northern England. The article reveals that initiating and facilitating children's organised activities is considered a central aspect of ‘good’ parenting in middle-class social networks. It is shown how this is a consequence of several developments within society over the past three decades or so, including the rising levels of maternal employment, the growing competitiveness of the labour market and the increasing concerns related to children's health and safety. It is argued that these developments have heightened middle-class parents’ predisposition to not only be involved with and invest in their children's leisure biographies, but to do so in a more deliberate, rigorous and rational manner.     

‘Named Small but Doing Great’: An Investigation of Small-Scale Chemistry Experimentation for Effective Undergraduate Practical Work

In theory, practical work is an established part of university-level chemistry courses. However, mainly due to budget constraints, large class size, time constraints and inadequate teacher preparations, practical activities are frequently left out from chemistry classroom instruction in most developing countries. Small-scale chemistry (SSC) experimentation in which one uses miniature chemical equipment can drastically reduce quantities of chemicals used during experimentation, which can help overcome some of the barriers preventing practical work in the chemistry classroom. This study evaluated the effectiveness of using miniature chemical equipment at the undergraduate level in increasing students’ understanding of chemistry concepts as well as in improving their attitude towards chemistry practical work. Two comparable groups of first-year students who enrolled for a Practical General Chemistry course participated. A quasi-experimental design was employed in which the experimental group (N = 49) used the SSC approach while the control group (N = 52) followed the traditional approach for over 8 weeks. Data were gathered using chemistry tests, attitude and perception questionnaires and interviews. Findings showed that the SSC approach was as effective as the traditional laboratory approach in improving students’ attitude towards practical work, but more effective in enhancing students’ understanding of chemistry concepts. More interestingly, SSC was positively accepted by both students and instructors as an effective strategy for teaching first-year undergraduate chemistry practicals. Some shortcomings of the approach were also identified.     

Perinatal mortality counseling program for families who experience a stillbirth

The emotional impact of a stillbirth on a family has only recently begun to be appreciated. Literature regarding the grieving process in these families has been relatively scant and does not often facilitate applied approaches. The Perinatal Mortality Counseling Program (PMCP) at Shands Teaching Hospital, Gainesville, Florida, provides crisis intervention and support for these families as well as serving a research function. This article outlines the program, including its history, composition, procedures, and research.     

文艺复兴时期关于亚里士多德《修辞学》的论争:传播理论的跨文化解读

本演讲探讨了欧洲早期文艺复兴期间(大约1350-1700)为解读亚里士多德的《修辞学》中的论述所做出的努力,讨论了欧洲的注释者在理解亚里士多德的《修辞学》中所遇到的困难,关注了当时学者意料之外的某些论争,并力图阐释引起这些论争的原因。作者认为,人们力图阐释关于一种文化的论述并力图从另一种文化的需求和兴趣来解读这种论述的努力对中美两国具有重要意义,这些阐释所可能引发的结果也具有积极意义。作者的这种解读对当今世界——对中国和“西方”国家富有更为广泛的意义——因为他在试图解读产生于一种文化而被转译到另一种文化的修辞学和传播学理论。作者指出,在欧洲文艺复兴时期,人们相信修辞学和社会很大程度上是一回事。修辞学能够使人们避免暴力、摆脱兽性,使许多不同人的思想统一起来,促成一种包容各种矛盾的和谐社会。修辞学使我们变得文明。     

Student teachers' subject matter knowledge within the domain of area measurement

This paper describes a research project whose major aim was to evaluate first-year teacher education students' understanding of subject matter knowledge in the domain of area measurement. In contrast to many previous approaches to evaluating teacher education students' subject matter knowledge, the approach adopted in this study not only focused on the student teachers' substantive knowledge but also on their knowledge about the nature and discourse of mathematics, their knowledge about mathematics in society and their dispositions towards mathematics. To this end, each student was clinically interviewed whilst engaged on a set of eight tasks that were developed for the study. The development of the tasks was a major component of the study and this is described in detail. The results of the tasks are given and the paper concludes with a discussion of the findings. This discussion focuses primarily on the implications that these results have for preservice mathematics education courses.     

Assessing Model Similarity in Structural Equation Modeling

Two models can be nonequivalent, but fit very similarly across a wide range of data sets. These near-equivalent models, like equivalent models, should be considered rival explanations for results of a study if they represent plausible explanations for the phenomenon of interest. Prior to conducting a study, researchers should evaluate plausible models that are alternatives to those hypothesized to evaluate whether they are near-equivalent or equivalent and, in so doing, address the adequacy of the study’s methodology. To assess the extent to which alternative models for a study are empirically distinguishable, we propose 5 indexes that quantify the degree of similarity in fit between 2 models across a specified universe of data sets. These indexes compare either the maximum likelihood fit function values or the residual covariance matrices of models. Illustrations are provided to support interpretations of these similarity indexes.     

College Students' Study Strategies as a Function of Testing: An Investigation into Metacognitive Self-Regulation

We conducted the present study to investigate whether college students adjust their study strategies to meet the cognitive demands of testing, a metacognitive self-regulatory skill. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the two testing conditions. In one condition we told participants to study for a test that required deep-level cognitive processing and in the other to study for a test that required surface-level cognitive processing. Results suggested that college students adjust their study strategies so that they are in line with the cognitive processing demands of tests and that performance is mediated by the study strategies that are used.Margaret E. Ross is an Associate Professor of Educational Measurement and Statistics at Auburn University. She earned her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Kansas. Her research interests include the role assessment plays in influencing student learning strategies, assessment issues and policy, and educational program evaluation. Samuel B. Green is a Professor in the Educational Psychology Department at Arizona State University. He holds a Ph.D. in Measurement and Individual Differences Psychology from the University of Georgia. His research focuses on statistical procedures. Jill Salisbury-Glennon is an Associate Professor teaching Educational Psychology courses at Auburn University. She earned her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Pennsylvania. Research interests include college student self-regulation, metacognition, and motivation. Nona Tollefson recently passed away. She was a Professor of Psychology and Research in Education at the University of Kansas and held a Ph.D. from Purdue University. Her research focused on student assessment     

Ambivalent journey: Teacher career paths in Oman

This study investigated the career paths of 625 university graduates who prepared to be secondary school teachers in Oman, their assessment of their current work situation, and the extent to which their initial commitment to teaching was related to their subsequent career satisfaction and intention to remain in teaching. While nearly all graduates entered teaching, their decision was marked by ambivalence. Nearly half of the graduates reported being only somewhat or not at all committed to teaching as a career when they graduated. It also appears that initial commitment to teaching operates as an important lens through which teachers view their subsequent careers. Those initially more committed to teaching were more likely to be satisfied with the progress they made in their career, more likely to think that their current teaching position offered them opportunities for advancement, and more likely to want to remain in teaching than were graduates who had a lower initial commitment to teaching. The authors discuss both the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.     

Analysing religion and education in Christian academies

This paper asserts that the religious assumptions of Christian academies need to be fully examined in relation to any analysis of their cultural practices, impact or policy implications. It proposes that Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus, cultural capital and symbolic power can be broadened out from their traditional use in accounting for social positioning in order to explore the interaction of religious faith and institutional culture. The emergent analytical framework outlined relies on series of theoretical tools drawn from Bourdieu whose social theory and concepts are already employed extensively in sociology of education research and studies of religion.