Dual Audiences, Double Pedagogies: Representing Family Literacy as Parental Work in Picture Books

Narrative for a dual audience of children and adults is a field of expanding interest among children’s literature scholars. A great deal of the extant research is implicitly or explicitly informed by longstanding anxieties about the status of children’s fiction, a context that shifts the parameters of the analysis to questions of literary sophistication. Whilst some attention is paid to the reader-subject position of the child reader, rather less is given to the positioning of the adult reader in relation to the pedagogical agendas of such texts. This article examines picture books featuring parents reading to preschool children. In the context of family literacy, it is an instance in which the pedagogical address to the adult reader is as significant as the address to the child. Drawing on distinctions between double and dual address, the article examines the ways in which representations of parents reading to children position adult and child reading-subjects to understand reading as work and leisure, respectively. We conclude with some observations about how the dual address might in fact subvert the literacy agendas in these texts.     

Integrating evidence-based reading practices into middle-school content instruction: exploring a facet of sustainability

Reading comprehension models are being implemented in content-area settings to boost reading achievement. Yet, little research explores how such models are incorporated into teachers’ daily instructional practice. The authors used extended observations and interviews to examine the integration of Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR), an evidence-based reading comprehension model, into the instructional practices of 15 middle school science, social studies, and language arts teachers. Findings indicated that high-integration teachers embedded CSR lessons into their curriculum and reinforced CSR strategy use throughout the week. These teachers also felt supported in their efforts by colleagues and school administrators. There is much to be learned from the ways in which teachers engage in the art of integrating new methods into their teaching.     

Exploration of a Blended Learning Approach to Reading Instruction for Low SES Students in Early Elementary Grades

This study investigated the potential benefits of a blended learning approach on the reading skills of low socioeconomic status students in Grades 1 and 2. Treatment students received English language arts instruction that was both teacher-led and technology-based. Comparisons were made with control students who received the same English language arts instruction without the blended learning component. Results showed significantly greater pretest/posttest gains on a standardized reading assessment for the treatment students compared to the control students. The greatest discrepancy occurred in reading comprehension. A sub-analysis of low-performing English language learner students in the treatment group revealed the largest reading gains. At posttest, these students performed at the level of non-English language learner students in the control group. Results indicated a blended learning approach can be effective in enhancing the reading skills of low socioeconomic students.     

Meeting in the circle: examining identity,attitudes, and pedagogy in the context of an early childhood teacher education program in the United States

As a team of teacher educators at a university in the United States, we engage in participatory action research to reflect on how reflective tools which we design engage teacher candidates (TCs) in their reflecting on teaching. In this paper, we describe how we invite TCs to write in-class reflections, respond to self-assessment probes, and practice problem-solving processes. We critically analyze our approaches and identify further intentional approaches to promote university students’ understandings of (1) links between the self and working with children and families and (2) connections between attitudes and pedagogy towards social justice and inclusion. We conclude that we must continue to explore how the teaching practices we use affect students’ understandings of social justice in education. Doing so demands our focus on examining attitudes through self-reflection among and between faculty and university students so that identity, relationships, attitudes, inclusion, and social justice are prioritized as pillars of curriculum in early childhood education at all levels of schooling.     

Exploring women faculty's experiences and perceptions in higher education: the effects of feminism?

This study analyses women faculty's discourse about feminism, themselves, and their professional experiences as scholars in the North American university context. This case study pushes at the boundaries of what we believe we know about ‘the gender question' in the academy, opening a discursive space for scholars to examine university policies and practices. Poststructuralist emphasis on the complexity and changing nature of power relations offer a framework that makes sense of the ways in which women are simultaneously affected by power relations and engage in power relations. I use feminist poststructuralist discourse analysis to analyse women's talk about their experiences in order to carve a path for moving beyond the deconstruction of discourse in order to unpack how it marginalises and silences women, even within and to themselves.     

The arts,Bohemian scenes,and income

ABSTRACT

Where and how does arts activity drive neighbourhood revitalization? We explore the impact of arts establishments on income in US zip codes, nationally and across quantiles (from four to seven subgroups) of zip codes stratified by disadvantage (based on income and ethnicity/race). We focus on what is new here: how neighbourhood scenes or the mixes of amenities mediate relationships between the arts and income. One dramatic finding is that more bohemian/hip neighbourhoods tend to have less income, contradicting the accounts from Jane Jacobs, Richard Florida and others. Arts and bohemia generate opposing effects, which emerge if we study not a few cases like Greenwich Village, but use more careful measures and larger number of cases. Some arts factors that distinctly influence neighbourhood income include the number of arts establishments; type and range of arts establishments; levels of disadvantage in a neighbourhood; and specific pre­ and co­existing neighbourhood amenities. Rock, gospel and house music appeal to distinct audiences. Our discussion connects this vitalizing role for arts activity to broader community development dynamics. These overall results challenge the view that the arts simply follow, not drive, wealth, and suggest that arts-led strategies can foster neighbourhood revitalization across a variety of income, ethnic, and other contexts.     

Validity and feasibility of an obstacle course to assess fundamental movement skills in a pre-school setting

Failure to master age-appropriate fundamental movement skills (FMS) at a young age can limit motor skill competence affecting health. Assessments often have issues with feasibility and implementation in a field setting. As such, the purpose of this study was to investigate the validity and feasibility of the Athletic Skills Track (AST), in a pre-school setting. For the validation study sixty-five 3–6 year old children (25 boys and 40 girls) from five pre-schools across Adelaide, Australia participated. Correlations and linear regression analysis (adjusted for age and gender) were used to investigate the association between the time to complete the AST and the raw score of the Test of Gross Motor Development 2 (TGMD-2). For the feasibility study pre-school staff completed a semi-structured interview regarding the feasibility of the AST. The AST took less than a minute per child and the TGMD-2 around 20 minutes for two children. There was a strong negative correlation (r = ?0.63, p < 0.01) between the AST scores and the TGMD-2 scores. All five staff reported strengths of the AST to be its short administration time, setup and appropriateness. These results suggest that the AST could be a feasible and valid method of FMS assessment in Australian pre-schools.     

Effects of structural features on word recognition development of hispanic and non-hispanic second graders

Reading and Writing - Do Hispanic and non-Hispanic second graders acquire knowledge ofstructural features of words in the same order and at the same rate? Doesthe order and rate of acquisition of...     

Prospective elementary science teachers and biomythographies: An exploratory approach to autobiographical research

This study explores an approach to autobiographical research based on a notion of “outlaw genre” autobiography referred to as biomythography. Outlaw genres of autobiography resist the tendency of western autobiography to craft narratives that will ultimately link the life of an individual to a universalised person—someone to whom all readers can relate. In this study, photo essays are used to learn about prospective elementary teachers' stories of science and science education. The photo essays and the theoretical framework of “biomythography” helped us reflect on layers mediating teaching and learning in our courses. Implications of the study call for us to examine hegemonies extending from our students' personal histories as science learners, and through mythologies of teacher education. Alternative research frameworks and approaches, such as those represented in this study, might help science teacher educators explore myths undermining the preparation of future science teachers and learners.