Learning by mentoring: prospective teachers as mentors to children at‐risk 1

This survey‐based study examined the benefits of mentoring for 299 pre‐service teachers who voluntarily worked with children at‐risk in a nationwide Israeli mentoring project. Results revealed that mentoring taught prospective teachers about the world of children, increased their sensitivity to children at‐risk and to children as individuals, and improved their ability to cope with difficult situations. Mentoring was particularly beneficial for mentors majoring in special education, when viewed as a professional development opportunity, and when guidance was provided that aimed at connecting between academic studies and mentoring experiences. Unlike other field experiences in teacher training programs which emphasize classroom teaching, mentoring offers pre‐service teachers an opportunity to learn about the individual child and the social factors influencing his/her success in school.     

Teacher Appraisal,Professional Development and School Improvement: a case study

The paper argues that in respect of the day‐to‐day work activities required in being a headteacher, and in the work relationships involved in running schools, the occupational culture of headship has changed fundamentally. Using the accounts of 20 headteachers, interviewed in respect of their career histories in 1990 and followed up by means of a postal questionnaire in 1992, the paper illustrates the changes experienced and identified by this group of heads. It is argued that a new headteacher is required; that aspects of educational leadership have diminished dramatically in the work culture of headship.     

Homophobia in medical students of the University of Hong Kong

Homosexuality is now accepted as a normal variant of human sexuality, but homophobia among healthcare professionals is well documented. Establishment of trustful doctor–patient relationships is impossible in the presence of homophobia. We were interested to examine the extent of homophobia among medical students, the future doctors. This article aims to study attitudes of medical students of the University of Hong Kong towards homosexuality and to identify significant factors affecting their attitudes. A cross‐sectional study was performed on students of the University of Hong Kong. Attitudes towards homosexuality were compared between medical and non‐medical students. More than 25% of the medical students agreed with the statement ‘homosexuality is a psychological disorder that requires therapy’. More than 15% would avoid any physical contact with homosexuals to minimise the chance of contracting diseases, especially AIDS. Comparison between the medical students and non‐medical students showed that the attitudes of the medical students were significantly more homophobic. Factors explaining the difference included the importance of religion in the formation of moral values, gender, experience of working closely with homosexual friends, sexual orientation, experience of the heterosexual sexual act, acquaintance of homosexual friends, and experience of homosexual love relationships. In conclusion, there appeared to be a certain level of homophobia among the medical students. This could possibly be explained by their lack of experience of working closely with homosexual friends. Relevant curriculum modification and development are urgently needed, to provide ongoing opportunities for students to realise their own values that could unconsciously affect their clinical judgements.     

戴着镣铐的革命历史想象——20世纪初立宪派革命话语影响下的历史小说叙事

20世纪初,康有为、梁启超等立宪派的革命话语对其革命历史题材的历史小说叙事产生了深刻影响,小说在历史题材的选择,革命历史事件的定性,历史学中的事件、行为者和场所等诸故事要素的编码,故事的叙述方式等方面产生了重要影响,形成对历史进行改写和重构的叙事话语模式。     

Facilitating early career leadership through pre‐service training

Current research indicates that new teachers want to be involved in school‐level decision‐making. Upon entering the profession, many novice teachers are surprised and disillusioned to find they have considerably less involvement and influence than expected. Based on strategies that have been developed, revised, and refined over a number of years in two teacher preparation programs in the eastern US, the current discussion proposes that teacher preparation programs incorporate training in school‐based management as a means to better prepare new teachers for the political realities of the profession. Intended for teacher educators, this paper describes how the research component common to most teacher education programs can be used as a venue to train teacher candidates in school‐based management.     

Questions and positions on education for sustainable development at university in France: example of short professional cycles

The questions focus on the emergence of education for sustainable development in the French university. The case study discusses the curricular examination of the Bachelor of Territory Professional Planning in 17 universities and the diachronic evolution, between 2001 and 2011, of their educational content around sustainable development. The analysis leads to a reflection on the specificity of French contexts, compared to international positions. Indeed, the legitimacy of the education provided is queried against the economization of the educational sphere. Didactic problems are posed by the reduction of distances between social practices and knowledge mobilized for the teachings. The evolution of the ‘school form’ and the specific place of ‘educations for’ in the framework of the institution are questioned.     

Lived meanings: what teachers mean when they say they are learner‐centered

While the term ‘learner‐centered’ is invoked in many curriculum standards documents, packaged curriculum materials, mission statements and criticisms of educational practice, there is little agreement on its meaning. Shallow understandings and conflicting practices abound. And rarely do the meanings ascribed to the term take into account the meanings of thoughtful teachers who live learner‐centered approaches daily in their work. Here we introduce lived meanings of learner‐centeredness found in the personal and professional histories of experienced teachers. Data were gathered in interviews that took the form of focused conversations which yielded elaborated stories and reflections that suggest that learner‐centeredness is a concept that cannot be captured in finite, static, unquestioned definitions. The teachers’ lived meanings are expressed in fine‐grained detail, are embedded in particular settings and the teachers’ own personal and professional histories, go beyond surface features of practice and are in motion and unfinished. Taken together, these lived meanings have the potential to challenge and deepen current understandings of learner‐centered practices. Further, they have the potential to bring humanity, humility and integrity to the work of those who engage in these practices and of those who would support or criticize them.     

Creating a Teaching and Learning Environment in Criminal Justice Courses that Promotes Higher Order Thinking∗

Active learning techniques have long been shown to increase the extent to which students are able to think critically about problems and solutions to them. The extant research suggests that efforts to engage students in higher order thinking should extend beyond the typical setting in which the more advanced students are introduced to active learning techniques. White and Frederiksen (2000 White, B. Y. and Frederiksen, J. R. 2000. “Metacognitive Facilitation: An Approach To Making Scientific Inquiry Accessible to All.”. In Inquiry into Learning and Teaching in Science, Edited by: Minstrell, J. L. and Van‐Zee, E. H. 331–70. Washington, DC: American Association for the Advancement of Science.  [Google Scholar]) have found that most students, regardless of achievement levels, can reach a higher order thinking level when they are encouraged to do so. This paper explores several issues associated with active learning techniques in the general sense and then uses examples to demonstrate how such techniques can and are being used on the criminal justice classroom. The pros and cons of using active learning techniques are also discussed.     

Considerations for Faculty Preparing to Develop and Teach Online Criminal Justice Courses at Traditional Institutions of Higher Learning

Criminal justice programs at traditional institutions of higher learning have been moving toward offering courses online and, in some cases, placing entire programs online for the better part of the past decade. In competition with for‐profit institutions, many traditional colleges and universities have expanded their distance education programming to include online courses and programs to attract students. As a result, the number of criminal justice students has increased, as have the profits for home institutions. With this growth in the online education market, the criminal justice faculty member has been thrust, willingly or unwillingly, into the world of online teaching—a method of instruction foreign to many instructors. From the authors’ experience at their current (and in the case of the lead author a second) institution, this paper addresses many issues that must be considered by faculty members before embarking on this type of time‐intensive initiative.