The humanities and the gifted

The humanities can provide the means for integrating specialized information while encouraging consideration of alternative solutions to mankind's problems in a curriculum for the gifted.     

An animated dictionary for hearing‐impaired students in Thailand

As English increasingly becomes the international language, many ministerial and educational organisations have identified the need to improve the competence of Thai students in speaking English. While there is significant research devoted to developing software tools to support the teaching of English as a second language, they are mostly concerned with adult learners. This project focuses on addressing the need to improve the teaching of English as a second language to primary school children with hearing impairments. This paper presents the development of an educational software tool referred to as the Total Communication with Animation Dictionary (TCAD), which supports learners in the acquisition and retention of new English lexical knowledge and is based on the theoretical approaches of Total Communication and situated learning. A series of experiments was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of the TCAD in improving vocabulary acquisition and retention. Early results are promising with increased learner engagement and performance compared with traditional approaches.     

Professionalization as an advocacy strategy: a content analysis of Canadian child care social movement organizations’ 2008 discursive resources

Do early childhood education and care (ECEC) professionals make good advocates? Canadian advocates have fought for better child care policies since the mid-1940s. What has happened to this advocacy with the recent increased professionalization of the ECEC sector? How does increased professionalization limit, innovate or expand advocacy strategies? This content analysis of seven Canadian child care social movement organizations’ discursive resources in 2008 examines how different types of child care social movement organizations communicated their positions to their members and the public to manage a changing economic and political climate. Preliminary findings indicate that both ECEC workforce sector associations and grassroots organizations shared common advocacy messages, played down problems associated with a market approach to child care, and framed child care as a business case in their messaging. The authors suggest this reflects a nascent discursive move towards the professionalization of Canadian child care movement advocacy messages.     

A technique to perfuse cadavers that extends the useful life of fresh tissues: The Duke experience

The demand for laboratory‐based teaching and training is increasing worldwide as medical training and education confront the pressures of shorter training time and rising costs. This article presents a cost‐effective perfusion technique that extends the useful life of fresh tissue. Refrigerated cadavers are preserved in their natural state for up to 45 days with a daily working period of ten hours. Tissues maintain their color and natural consistency throughout this period. This new process for preservation of tissue opens the door to improved surgical training and to numerous research opportunities. Anat Sci Educ. © 2010 American Association of Anatomists.     

Savings without sacrifice: a case report on open-source textbook adoption

Rising textbook costs have prompted the development of open-source textbooks to increase access to education. The purpose of this case report is to examine open-source textbook adoption through the COUP framework (costs, outcomes, use, and perceptions) comparing a semester with a commercial textbook to a semester with an open-source textbook. Students (N = 520) were enrolled in an undergraduate course at a mid-sized public university in the United States. Results indicated that although costs were substantially lower, student learning outcomes and perceptions of quality were similar or better with an open-source textbook. Although students were much more likely to access the open-source textbook electronically, there were no differences in how they reported using the two textbooks to support their learning. Considering the financial savings of open-source textbooks, these findings build on existing empirical support that encourage the adoption of open-source textbooks.     

Education as a mechanism for conflict resolution in Northern Ireland

How education systems operate in divided societies is an increasingly important question for academics and educational practitioners as well as for governments. The question is particularly pertinent in post‐conflict societies, where education is a key mechanism for resolving conflict between divided communities. Using Northern Ireland as a case study, this article sheds new light on the role of education in conflict resolution by examining the long‐term impact of segregated and integrated education on attitudes towards community relations and levels of contact between the Protestant and Catholic communities. The results suggest that individuals who had attended an integrated school are significantly more likely to have friends and neighbours from across the religious divide and that these friendship networks translate into a more optimistic view of future community relations. This is not the case, however, when kinship networks are considered. The evidence from Northern Ireland suggests that the education system can be a source of both conflict and cohesion depending on the nature of the school system as well as the particular source of division to be addressed.     

The Growth of International Student Enrollment at Community Colleges and Implications

An emerging trend today is the increased enrollment of international students at community colleges. International students look to American community colleges as a steppingstone to achieving an education that might otherwise be beyond their reach. They are attracted to the community college by the lower tuition costs, opportunities for guaranteed transfer to a four-year university, and the opportunity to study at a variety of geographical locations throughout the United States. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the reasons that international students choose to study at community colleges and to consider the implications for community colleges at a time when funding, services, and growth opportunities have been severely restricted. Suggestions for further research are also included.