Combining issues of “girl-suited” science teaching,STS and constructivism in a physics textbook

This paper outlines the design of a physics textbook that addresses issues of gender-inclusive physics teaching, STS and constructivism. Difficulties of addressing these issues in a textbook for normal classes, which has to compete with other textbooks on the market will be discussed. Specializations: constructivist approaches in science education research and practice. Specializations: gender issues in science instruction. Specializations: primary education, integrated science. Specializations: STS, phenomenological oriented physics instruction. Specializations: peace education within science education.     

Knowing and learning about science in a preservice setting: A narrative study

This study employs narrative methods to give a holistic view of the experiences of five mature age preservice teachers in a semester unit of science education. The unit was designed to help teachers examine and make explicit their ideas about science and science teaching and consider ways in which they might put those ideas into practice. The pivotal theme, around which the teachers' experiences could be organised, was found to be learning science. The preservice teachers expressed a need for a supportive learning environment in which concepts were built gradually and introduced using concrete examples. Previous science experience was found to be a major influence on the attitudes the participants brought to the present course. A lack of previous experience or negative past experiences were a major cause of anxiety. Gender was also important as it had limited the science experiences available to some participants in the past and continued to influence the way they participated in classes during the semester. Specializations: primary science, science teacher education, primary school field experience. Specializations: formation of teachers' knowledge, leadership, teacher change, school reform.     

Why does language matter to education?

Discussions concerning ??literacy?? make it clear that the domain of language has become a focal point for educational policy. In such discussions, language is primarily treated as a basic communication tool. This paper examines, from a philosophical perspective, how appropriate this approach to language is. The philosophical validity of this dominant tendency is analyzed with reference to the work of Wilhelm von Humboldt, Nietzsche, and Wittgenstein. Once the stable relationship conceived by Humboldt among the individual, language, and the world is lost, education displays its more distinctive features, which we see clearly in Nietzsche and Wittgenstein. Both of these philosophers focused their investigation on the rhetorical or performative aspects of language. In contrast to Nietzsche, however, Wittgenstein did not abandon the hope of finding in language the function of showing reality, even if what is said and what is shown remain incongruent. This perspective in Wittgenstein is salient against the dominant tendency, in which the mediating function of language is sought in the dimension of conformity and usefulness.     

Die ?sterreichische Studierendenanwaltschaft: ein effizientes Beschwerdeinstrument oder Multifunktions-Hybrid?

Bereits 1997 ist im damaligen Bundesministerium für Wissenschaft und Verkehr die Studierendenanwaltschaft, ?hnlich wie andere Sonderanwaltschaften des Bundes, eingerichtet worden. Mit der Einführung von Studiengebühren an Universit?ten und Fachhochschulen 2001 wurden ihre Agenden von einer reinen Informations- auf eine ministerielle Beschwerdestelle zur Meldung und Behebung von Missst?nden und Unzul?nglichkeiten ausgeweitet. Nach zehn Jahren T?tigkeit zeigen die Erfahrungen aus dem Alltag, dass überwiegend informelle Individualhilfe im Vordergrund der T?tigkeit dieser Einrichtung steht. Systemm?ngel sind schwerer zu beheben, da solche meist ressourcenbedingt oder mit einander konkurrierenden gesetzlichen Regelungen verbunden sind und es keine festgelegten Normen des Einschreitens innerhalb der offiziellen Rechtsaufsicht des Ministeriums gibt. L?sungen sind von der Kooperationsbereitschaft der Verantwortlichen vor Ort abh?ngig.     

Effects of thematic‐based,hands‐on science teaching versus a textbook approach for students with disabilities

Institutions of higher education, states, and local K–12 districts have been challenged to improve math and science education for our nation's students. In the past few years, there has been renewed interest in inquiry‐based, activity‐oriented instruction in science for students with disabilities. Yet, there still exists the need for further empirical evidence to support instructional improvements for students with more involved emotional and behavioral disabilities. This study describes a program in which 18 middle school students with serious emotional disturbances were instructed, over the course of 8 weeks, on “Matter” by two different instructional approaches. Students in one classroom received a traditional textbook approach to science content, whereas students in another classroom received science instruction by a hands‐on, thematic approach. Over the course of instruction, data were collected regarding students' behavior and achievement. Results indicate that, overall, students in the hands‐on instructional program performed significantly better than the students in the textbook program on two of three measures of science achievement, a hands‐on assessment and a short‐answer test. The students did not differ on a multiple‐choice format test. With regard to behavior, there were no significant differences in behavioral problems found between the two groups of students over the course of the study. Findings are discussed in relation to instructional implications for students with disabilities in the science classroom. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 42: 245–263, 2005     

The limited value of planning in education: Getting back to the basics isn't all about curriculum

In these times of tight budgets and political intoleance for taxation, public schools, particularly urban public schools, will continually have to look for ways in which to spend less while dealing with ever-increasing societal problems. While the ability of schools to improve the overal “product” with less resources is highly suspect, this article addresses one way in which spending less might actually improve school perfomance. The best planners in the best schools should be the administration, techers, students, parents, and the comminitu at large, and not outside esxperts hired to improve a school's “comprehensive” or “strategic” plan. By forcing the segments of the public that have the largest stake in the educational outcomes of schools to work together to plan for the future, schools will improve the efficacy of their staffs, their students, and allow parents the self-satisfaction of playing an important role in their children's education. An improtant side effect of such a method may be an increasing awareness by the public of the difficulties that schools face, and perhaps a better understanding of the important need for higher expenditures. His research interests include professionalism, collective bargaining, and educational reform. His articles have appeared inPeople and Education, and a recent article has been aceepted for publication in theJournal of Collective Negotiations in the Public Sector.     

Early Identification and Intervention: Head Start's Response to Mental Health Challenges

Serving low-income children from birth to age five and their families, Head Start is a primary venue for identification and intervention in the area of child mental health. However, recent research has demonstrated that the knowledge base regarding prevalence, developmental course, and predictive power of child mental health problems is lacking for young children in general and low-income, diverse populations in particular. Head Start's agency-level data is often discrepant from both national estimates and small, intensive studies of similar populations, perhaps for reasons related to availability of community services and professional staff, as well as concerns about stigmatization. Following on recent expert recommendations, new collaborative Federal initiatives are underway to increase our understanding of the types, trajectories, and treatments of mental health problems affecting the vulnerable children served by Head Start. The paper concludes with a call to action for the field in the area of young children's mental health.     

Adolescents' cognitive and emotional responses to marital hostility

Early adolescents' (11-14 years) responses to marital hostility were examined in a sample of 416 families. The cognitive-contextual perspective and emotional security hypothesis guided the study and 9 adolescent responses were identified. Prospective associations were examined in several structural equation models that included adolescent problems as outcomes. Self-blame and perceived threat uniquely mediated the association between Year 1 marital hostility and Year 3 adolescent externalizing problems (p<.05). Self-blame, lower constructive representations, internalization of feelings, avoidance, and emotional dysregulation uniquely mediated the association between Year 1 marital hostility and Year 3 internalizing problems. Specific cognitive and emotionally based responses are important to understanding how martial hostility affects youth and need to be considered within an integrated model.