What Education do you Miss by Going to School? Children's 'Coming-to-Knowing' About Science and Their Environment

Starting from Whitehead's notions of education as "the art of the utilisation of knowledge" and his rationale for eradicating "the fatal disconnection of subjects which kills the vitality of the modern curriculum," the article explores how these ideas relate to the current political realities of primary education in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. This is exemplified through a focus on learning about one's environment and the consequent tension between direct perception through non-school activities and the teaching of ideas via the formal school curriculum. A resolution is proposed which involves considering the learner's perspective, and the implications for teachers in terms of 'letting pupils in' to the teachers' own learning and their awareness of a plurality of ways of knowing.     

The Lifecycle of a South African Non-governmental Organisation: Primary Science Programme 1983-1999

The case study traces the lifecycle of the Primary Science Programme (PSP) in South Africa, from its initiation in 1983 to its demise in 1999. The case is considered to be representative of the experiences of many South African non-governmental organisations (NGOs), insofar as PSP developed co-terminously with numerous other NGOs within the same political policy environment, serving the same clientele of disadvantaged teachers and depending on the same corporate, voluntary and external funding sources. It illustrates how the social and economic environment shaped PSP's development and demise. The conclusions highlight tensions between quality and quantity, subject versus holistic focus, participatory versus authoritarian management structures, and between styles of relationships with departmental structures. Lessons are drawn concerning the nature of effective InSET and the challenges inherent in taking education programmes to scale. An analogy with the ecological study of a plant's lifecycle is used to illuminate the account.     

Crisis response in the public schools: A survey of school psychologists' experiences and perceptions

In this study, 228 school psychologists completed a survey regarding crisis intervention teams and plans. The majority of respondents indicated their schools had crisis plans (95.1%) and teams (83.6%). The most common team activities endorsed by participants involved providing direct assistance and services to students, staff, and the media. The majority of participants (93%) reported that their schools had experienced and responded to serious crises. Respondents indicated that psychological debriefing was frequently used (generic 49.1% and standardized 17.9%). Less than half of the participants (44.3%) reported that meetings were conducted with parents and community members following a crisis. Nearly all of the participants (98.2%) reported that they had some type of crisis intervention training. However, many participants suggested that additional training and practice with crisis intervention would improve schools' crisis responses. Results are discussed with implications for school psychologists to improve their schools' crisis intervention plans and teams' responses. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 44: 749–764, 2007.     

Children's Learning from Science Texts: A Critique of ‘EXIT into Understanding’

This article is a reply to an earlier article published in Reading Volume 29 (1) in which David Wray and Maureen Lewis outlined their EXIT model for describing the process of children learning from text. Here Alan Peacock, a science specialist with a particular interest in the use of texts in developing countries, questions the applicability of the EXIT model to children's reading of science texts in other contexts. He rightly makes the point that not enough research has been carried out into the use of texts in various curriculum areas and in various contexts and his article is a challenge to begin such extended research.     

Self-esteem of abused children

Thirty-seven children admitted to hospital with a diagnosis of abuse at an average of 5.5 years previously were compared with 37 non-abused children matched for age, sex, ethnic group, school and social class. The mean age of the children with 8.9 years (range 4.6-14.0 years). Self-esteem in the children was assessed by means of a structured interview with the child and the Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale. The abused children saw themselves as having significantly fewer friends than the comparison children and they played with friends less often. They were less ambitious than the non-abused children with regard to the sort of occupation they would like as adults and were significantly lower in self-concept on the Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale. These results show that, as well as providing treatment for abusive parents, a long-term program which aims at improving interpersonal relationship skills and self-esteem is required for abused children.     

INCORPORATING FIELD SITES INTO SERVICE-LEARNING AS COLLABORATIVE PARTNERS

This article, which describes the service-learning program at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, advocates incorporating the needs and perspectives of field sites selected for involvement in service-learning projects. Information is gathered through interviews with field site supervisors. Service-learning requires the active participation of both members of the college or university (e.g., students, faculty members, and administrators) and community partners in a collaborative process. When successful, this collaboration focuses on both mutual interests and common goals. Involving all partners throughout the process is crucial for successful collaboration. This article offers suggestions for the development of strong service-learning collaborations with community organizations. These suggestions fall into three broad categories: (a) level of site involvement throughout the project, (b) conceptualization of the project, and (c) managerial aspects of the collaboration.     

Notices

Kinanthropometry III. Proceedings of the VIII Commonwealth and International Conference on Sport, Physical Education, Dance, Recreation and Health. T. Reilly, J. Watkins and J. Borms (eds), E. &; F.N. Spon, London, 1986, xii + 312 pp, £25 (hb), ISBN 0 419 13970 2

Sensible fitness. J.H. Wilmore, Human Kinetics, Champaign, Illinois, USA, 1986, xii + 300 pp, $11.95, ISBN 0 88011 270 0

Running without fear. K.H. Cooper, Bantam Books, London, 1985, 256 pp, £3.95, ISBN 0 553 17356 1

Athletic training and sports medicine. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Churchill Livingstone, Chicago, USA, 1986. viii + 602 pp, £40, ISBN 0 89203 002 X

Athletics and the heart. R. Rost, Year Book Medical Publishers Inc., Chicago, 1987, vii+159 pp, £21.50 (pb), ISBN 0 8151 7397 0

Psychology and sociology of sport: current selected research, Volume 1. L.V. Velden and J.M. Humprey (eds), AMS Press, New York, 1986, ix + 237 pp, £49.50 (hb), ISBN 0 404 63401 X