The Career Development Needs of College Students with Learning Disabilities: In Their Own Words

The career development and disability knowledge of 97 students with learning disabilities from three postsecondary institutions in the Midwest was examined through semi‐structured interviews. Students with disabilities who were eligible for services while in high school generally did not engage in transition planning as required by federal law. Their career development activities were limited despite having unique career needs. The majority of students had difficulty describing their disability and its impact on their career exploration and planning. For students with learning disabilities at the postsecondary level, career development services should be provided, including training in self‐advocacy and career exploration in the first two years. Instruction in career self‐management skills should be ongoing.     

The research-teaching nexus in nurse and teacher education: contributions of an ecological approach to academic identities in professional fields

In developing graduates for the knowledge society lecturers in higher education may seek to strengthen links between research and teaching. Much of the previous work on the research-teaching nexus is within traditional universities and subject disciplines. In aiming to deepen understanding of the research and teaching nexus this paper focuses on the academic identities of higher education lecturers working in newer higher education institutions and in the professional fields of nursing and of teacher education. A qualitative study, informed by professional identity construction as an ecological concept, was conducted. The findings align with previous studies concerning similarities between lecturers in nurse and teacher education, but they contrast with previous studies concerning differences between these two groups of lecturers. Similarities include the priority given by professional educators to their responsibility for preparing new clinical practitioners; the research-led model as the lecturers’ main approach to the research-teaching nexus; and their difficulties in coping with current demands in academic work. Differences between the two groups of lecturers include the way that ‘practitioner identity’ is positioned within their current academic identities and the way that they position initial education within the wider professional field. These differences indicate different kinds of connections between teaching and research. The paper proposes an ecological approach to understanding the research-teaching nexus.     

Television

PLAYING DOCTOR: TELEVISION, STORYTELLING, AND MEDICAL POWER by Joseph Turow (New York: Oxford University Press, 1989—$24.95, ISBN 0-19-504490-8)

COMIC VISIONS: TELEVISION COMEDY AND AMERICAN CULTURE by David Marc (Winchester, MA: Unwin Hyman [formerly Allen & Unwin], 1989—$10.95, paper, ISBN 0-04-445285-3)

NERVOUS LAUGHTER: TELEVISION SITUATION COMEDY AND LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC IDEOLOGY by Darrell Y. Hamamoto (New York: Praeger, 1989—$39.95, ISBN 0-275-92861-6)

INSIDE GILUGANS ISLAND: FROM CREATION TO SYNDICATION by Sherwood Schwartz (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 1988—$29.95, ISBN 0-89950-339-X)

THE CRITICS' CHOICE-THE BEST OF TV SITCOMS by John Javna (New York: Harmony Books, 1988—$8.95, paper, ISBN 0-517-56922-1)

TELEVISION STUDIES: TEXTUAL ANALYSIS edited by Gary Bums and Robert Thompson (New York: Praeger, 1989—$39.95, ISBN 0-275-92745-8)

THE USE AND ABUSE OF TELEVISION: A SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE CHANGING SCREEN by J. Mallory Wober (Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1988—$34.50, ISBN 0-89859-662-9)

AMERICA'S WATCHING: 30TH ANNIVERSARY 1959-1989 actually issued by the now-defunct Television Information Office, but distributed through NAB)

TELEVISION IN TRANSITION: THE VALUE OF BROADCAST TELEVISION IN A CHANGING MARKETPLACE by Philip Jursek and Norman Hecht (1989—price not given, paper, ISBN 0-89-324-067-2)

NAB GUIDE TO ADVANCED TELEVISION SYSTEMS

TELEVISION STATION OPERATIONS AND MANAGEMENT edited by Robert Hilliard (Stoneham, MA: Focal Press, 1989—$24.95, paper, ISBN 0-240-80027-3)

THE BEST OF SCIENCE FICTION TV by John Javna (New York: Harmony Books, 1989—$8.95, paper, ISBN 0-517-56650-8)

CATALYST IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST is the name of the 1988 CPB annual report (Corporation for Public Broadcasting, 1111 Sixteenth St. NW, Washington DC 20036—free on request, paper)

EXPLORING CAREERS IN VIDEO by Paul Allman (New York: Rosen, 1989—price not given, ISBN 0-8239-1018-0)     

Anxiety in Science Classrooms: its measurement and relationship to classroom environment

This paper considers the role of a new vocational science qualification in the UK (Intermediate General National Vocational Qualification (GNVQ) science) and how it relates to science-based employment. Studies into employers' requirements are reviewed and found to indicate that an ability to understand and evaluate scientific evidence is valued highly. This part of science is not currently taught explicitly either in GNVQ or elsewhere in the science curriculum. The authors report the results of a small intervention study in which ideas about evidence were explicitly taught within Intermediate GNVQ science. The findings suggest that it is feasible to incorporate such teaching into the qualification but that, if it is not part of the formal assessment process, the teaching tends to be undervalued by the students. By contrast, the teaching staff involved in the project recognised that these ideas fill a gap in the qualification and valued the teaching materials developed for this purpose. A means of incorporating the assessment of such understanding into the current assessment procedures is put forward. Such a modification to the assessment process would add rigour to the qualification and provide a better preparation for employment in science-based industry.     

6 Urban schools as organizations: political perspectives

Reformed at the turn of the century toward top‐down, centralized administration, city school systems are frequently being reorganized today toward a bottom‐up, decentralized construction. The most radical of these is Chicago. But Chicago, in a condition shared widely throughout the USA, is a city school system experiencing serious budgetary and infrastructure decline ‐ a condition tending anew toward organizational centralization. Such political forces may not mesh well ‐ as a new politics of adaptive realignment at the grassroots encounters renewed strength in an ‘old politics’ of bureaucratic centralization. Largely unstudied and unknown at this time are the effects on the internal politics of the organization in city schooling ‐ a politics that may adapt in some unforeseen way to new battles between top‐down and bottom‐up.     

Training tomorrow's anatomists today: A partnership approach

Anatomy is recognized to play a central role in the education and training of clinicians, healthcare professionals, and scientists. However, in recent years, the perceived decline in popularity of anatomy has led to a deficiency in the numbers of new anatomy educators. The tide is now turning with anatomy once again taking its rightful place in a wide of variety of disciplines, and therefore it is imperative that a new generation of anatomists is in place to meet this need. In response, the Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland has made the training of the next set of anatomists, one of its strategic priorities, and in collaboration with the American Association of Anatomists has developed a dedicated Training Program. The overall aim of the Program is to provide trainees with the necessary knowledge, understanding, aptitudes, and attitudes in appropriate detail, sufficient to enable them to teach and examine Anatomy with full competence at the undergraduate and postgraduate level. The Program offers opportunities to consolidate knowledge and deepen understanding of anatomy, improve skills in teaching and communication with students, and be competent in preparing teaching materials and assessment modalities. The Program uses a distance‐learning approach with an incorporated Residential School and is particularly aimed at those undertaking a career in the biosciences. Early indications suggest that initiatives such as the development of this Training Program will help deliver the next generation of anatomists and ensure that anatomy continues to play a fundamental role in the education of clinicians, healthcare professionals, and scientists. Anat Sci Ed 2:119‐125, 2009 © 2009 American Association of Anatomists.     

Gendered citizenship and the individualization of environmental responsibility: evaluating a campus common reading program

Campus common reading programs are intended to stimulate critical thinking and dialogue across disciplines yet scarce evidence exists to evaluate the success of such programs. We assess the extent to which engagement in an environmentally-themed common reading program is related to (1) concern for waste-related issues, (2) beliefs that addressing waste is an individual responsibility, and (3) individual behaviors intended to reduce personal waste. Results are drawn from a sample of undergraduate students (n = 398) with varying levels of engagement in the common reading program. Students who participated in the common reading program have higher levels of concern for waste than those who did not, are more likely to locate responsibility for addressing the problem of waste on the individual, and self-report higher frequency of engagement in individual efforts to reduce waste. We conclude with recommendations for further developing the critical thinking capacity of campus common reading programs.     

The emergent literacy skills of four-year-old children receiving free kindergarten early childhood education in New Zealand

This study investigated the emergent literacy and language skills of four-year-old children in New Zealand during their kindergarten year prior to school-entry. A total of 92 four-year-old children from a range of socio-economic areas were seen individually at their local kindergarten and were assessed on code-related measures (letter name knowledge, initial phoneme awareness, emergent name writing) and meaning-related measures (story comprehension and retelling ability). Approximately, 60% of the parents completed a home literacy questionnaire. Regression analyses showed no effect for age on any of the code-related measures. In contrast, significant effects for age were found on story comprehension and retelling ability. There were no differences in performance based on gender with two exceptions: Girls performed better than boys on letter name knowledge and early name writing. Questionnaire results suggested literacy activities were valued in the home environment with most parents reporting reading to their child each night, and the majority of parents reported owning more than 60 children’s books. Results from the current study suggest more explicit teaching may be necessary within the kindergarten curriculum to facilitate the code-related skills linked to successful word recognition ability and early spelling development.