A Model of Classroom Coping Strategies

This paper represents an attempt to construct a theoretical model with which to analyse the social context and genesis of classroom coping strategies, thereby linking macro‐ and micro‐factors. I approach this firstly through a critique of A. Hargreaves’ analysis which tends to emphasise macro‐factors and constraints on teacher action. I suggest that this analysis should be balanced and augmented by recognition of more independent and creative action in micro contexts. In the second part of the paper I develop Woods’ work on teacher survival by considering the use of the interactionist concept of ‘self and the phenomenological concept of ‘interests‐at‐hand’ as a means of defining the subjective meaning of ‘coping’, and its implication for classroom processes. I emphasise the importance of teacher biography. Finally a conceptual model which seeks to integrate many macro‐ and micro‐factors which bear on classroom coping strategies is presented.     

Corporal punishment and communication in father‐son dyads

This study was based on a communication‐oriented perspective of corporal punishment of children. The perspective posits that physically aggressive influence tactics would be associated with aggressive communication and a set of communication outcomes. The perceptions of 74 father‐son dyads were solicited to test these relationships. Results indicated that when there was lower argumentativeness and higher verbal aggressiveness in father‐son communication there was more corporal punishment as an influence tactic and that fathers and sons perceived the relationship as less favorable in terms of influence success, communication competence, affirming style, and credibility.     

Researching learning outcomes: building confidence in our conclusions

The ESRC Teaching and Learning Research Programme is expected to produce knowledge of high social scientific quality and practical pedagogic value. It faces, in a particularly acute form, the issue of how confidence in its conclusions can be built. This article begins with some conceptual clarification of the notion of a ‘warrant’ for research findings and distinguishes between warrants in social research and warrants for educational policy and practice. It then, in the specific context of research on learning outcomes, proposes an integrated model that recognizes the importance of, and relationships among, criteria associated with research design and empirical work, theoretical coherence, relationship with other research, and user affirmation. It concludes by emphasizing the need for continuing debate about, and development of, the roles and relationships of ‘researchers’ and ‘users’.     

Learner agency and the curriculum: a critical realist perspective

Abstract

Agency, understood as the capacity to act independently and to make one’s own choices, is considered central to children’s development. Thus, education, and hence education curricula, have a role in the development of learner agency. While curriculum development is a key focus for educational theory, research, policy, and classroom practice, the potential implications of curriculum content selections for learner agency remain underexplored. Theoretically, this paper engages with critical realism, explaining how it can provide theoretical foundation for a more comprehensive view of learner agency and, by implication, more balanced curricula. Empirically, the paper draws on the findings from a content analysis of the national curriculum documents of four countries with relatively high scores in international comparative tables, England, Australia, Hong-Kong, and Canada, to develop a new typology of primary curricula. Based on the extent of emphasis placed on knowledge versus skills, values, and attitudes, three types of curricula were identified: knowledge-based, skills-oriented, and learner-centred. Due to its significant theoretical and practical influence globally, we focus on the knowledge-based model and its likely impact on students’ agency. We conclude by highlighting the importance of making learner agency a key orientation of the curriculum and suggesting directions for future research.     

Development of Intra‐ and Intergroup Judgments in the Context of Moral and Social‐Conventional Norms

Children and adolescents evaluated group inclusion and exclusion in the context of generic and group‐specific norms involving morality and social conventions. Participants (N = 381), aged 9.5 and 13.5 years, judged an in‐group member's decision to deviate from the norms of the group, whom to include, and whether their personal preference was the same as what they expected a group should do. Deviating from in‐group moral norms about unequal allocation of resources was viewed more positively than deviating from conventional norms about nontraditional dress codes. With age, participants gave priority to group‐specific norms and differentiated what the group should do from their own preference about the group's decision, revealing a developmental picture about children's complex understanding of group dynamics and group norms.     

Partners in creativity: action research and creative partnerships

The Government's recent Creative Partnerships initiative in England represents part of the resurgence of interest in creativity which was stimulated by the NACCCE's 1999 National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education. 1999. All our futures: creativity, culture and education, Suffolk: DfEE Publications.  [Google Scholar] All our futures report. However, many questions remain about the impact and processes of creative partnerships. The field of creativity research has been dominated by two key questions: how should creativity be defined and is it possible to teach creativity? Much has been written which attempts to shed light on the answers to these questions so it is important that creative partnerships' work is understood in the context of what it already known from research and theory. A welcome aspect of Creative Partnerships is the desire to ensure an evidence base to support the creative work happening in schools. Frequently this evidence base has been built in part by using action research methodology which has a strong track record in the context of practitioner research. This paper reports on work done with Creative Partnerships which involved the use of an action research framework to support creative work. It is concluded that there are potential problems with assuming that creativity will be enhanced by approaches such as multiple intelligence without careful thought about the way in which creativity is defined. It is also shown that action research does have the potential to enhance creative work but that one of the most important aspects of this is the relationships that are built between mentors and teachers.     

Academic users’ interactions with ScienceDirect in search tasks: Affective and cognitive behaviors

This article presents part of phase 2 of a research project funded by the NSF-National Science Digital Library Project, which observed how academic users interact with the ScienceDirect information retrieval system for simulated class-related assignments. The ultimate goal of the project is twofold: (1) to find ways to improve science and engineering students’ use of science e-journal systems; (2) to develop methods to measure user interaction behaviors. Process-tracing technique recorded participants’ processes and interaction behaviors that are measurable; think-aloud protocol captured participants’ affective and cognitive verbalizations; pre- and post-search questionnaires solicited demographic information, prior experience with the system, and comments. We explored possible relationships between affective feelings and cognitive behaviors. During search interactions both feelings and thoughts occurred frequently. Positive feelings were more common and were associated more often with thoughts about results. Negative feelings were associated more often with thoughts related to the system, search strategy, and task. Learning styles are also examined as a factor influencing behavior. Engineering graduate students with an assimilating learning style searched longer and paused less than those with a converging learning style. Further exploration of learning styles is suggested.     

The Long-Term Conservation of the Australopithecus-bearing Member 4 Excavation Walls at the Sterkfontein Caves,South Africa

The Sterkfontein Caves UNESCO World Heritage site represents one of South Africa’s most valuable cultural heritage resources and is one of the world’s most prolific palaeoanthropological sites with its fossiliferous deposits spanning the last 3.5 million years. One of the most famous fossil-bearing deposits at Sterkfontein is the 2.5 million-year-old Member 4. This is the world’s richest Australopithecus-bearing deposit and has yielded iconic fossils like StS 5 – Mrs Ples, StW 53, two partial skeletons, and two species of Australopithecus. After 80 years of research, Member 4 continues to provide crucial evidence for human origins research. Over the last 35 years, since excavation of the Member 4 started exposing the walls of the deposit, their deterioration has been accelerating. The implications of this deterioration and impending collapse are severe, not only from a palaeoanthropological perspective but also a heritage management point of view. This article focuses on our efforts to conserve the deteriorating areas of the Member 4 excavation site. The project required the development of a comprehensive set of strategies that had to be adapted to the specific requirements of the national and local heritage management agencies and remain sensitive to ongoing research programmes. The strategy developed included: multiscale integrative documentation of the exposed deposits; comprehensive, independent but cohesive stabilization of the different components of the deposit while maintaining visibility for ongoing and future research; and installation of stabilization infrastructure that could be adapted to the long-term conservation excavation plan while maintaining deposit integrity and site safety.