Universities Conducting STEM Outreach: a Conceptual Framework

This paper addresses the positioning of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) outreach programmes within universities’ operations. Though universities in many respects form a rather homogenous international community, there is wide diversity in regard to the provision of STEM outreach by different institutions. To explain this diversity, a conceptual framework was developed by using the Theory of Legitimacy as an organising concept. The framework considers two opposing scenarios that form a continuum between them, namely: ‘top‐down’ initiative by the university governance versus ‘bottom‐up’ grass‐roots initiative. Using the Theory of Legitimacy, internal and external outreach relationships are characterised and explained under the two scenarios. The framework was applied to two settings chosen due to their essential differences in outreach provision, namely, Australia and Israel. The differences that were found in internal and external legitimacy provide a useful lens for examining the low‐performing, fragile system in Australia as compared with the high‐performing, thriving system in Israel.     

ESD Pedagogy: A Guide for the Perplexed

This article addresses issues regarding implementation of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) within formal education systems. In particular, it seeks to identify the basic essential components of ESD pedagogy. The authors present a theoretical pedagogical framework based on accumulated theory and experience in the field. The framework aspires to encompass the majority of prevailing pedagogies within a simple set of four basic principles. It will be argued that the four principal pedagogies are basic and indispensable prerequisites for achieving the goals of ESD, and the lack of one is sufficient to undermine the ESD's pedagogical construct.     

‘I was always the good girl’: the twofold silencing of teachers as a force fostering a low sense of professional self-efficacy

The purpose of this study was to expand the theory of self-efficacy in relation to feminist perspectives by exploring the factors and the dynamics that foster a low sense of professional self-efficacy in Israeli female teachers. Listening to their voices enables us to learn about their past experiences in the nuclear family and consider their repercussions for professional self-efficacy in the present. Fourteen teachers who were identified as having a low sense of professional self-efficacy participated in in-depth open interviews. Data were analysed according to Grounded Theory methodology, implementing the axial coding procedure. Findings indicated that these teachers’ sense of professional self-efficacy was affected by their experience of having been silenced by the dominant authority figures in two spheres of life: the nuclear family (parents) and the workplace (school principal). Similar patterns in the two spheres and their implications for teachers and principals are discussed.     

Psychological Benefits of Participation in Three-dimensional Virtual Worlds for Individuals with Real-world Disabilities

One hundred and ninety-six individuals with real-world disabilities were administered a battery of psychological adjustment measures soon after joining the three-dimensional virtual world of Second Life^®. After three months, 61 participants who continued to be actively involved in Second Life were re-administered the adjustment measures and completed a survey about their virtual and real-life experiences during the interval between assessments. Participants’ scores significantly improved on measures of affective states (depression, anxiety, positive emotion, life satisfaction, and feelings of loneliness) and self-evaluation (self-esteem). An index of overall change was associated with the number of virtual friends and group affiliations in Second Life, as well as feelings about the self as a result of involvement in the virtual world. The current study provides initial empirical support that three-dimensional virtual worlds can serve as a psychologically beneficial context for individuals with real-life disabilities.     

ANALYSIS OF INSTRUCTIONAL CONSULTANTS' QUESTIONS AND ALTERNATIVES TO QUESTIONS DURING THE PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION INTERVIEW

This study sought to determine the relation between Instructional Consultants' communication skills and competence using videotapes of simulated Problem Identification interviews. A quantitative analysis identified the frequencies of questions and alternatives to questions used, and the qualitative analysis examined the content of the verbalizations in the context of the session. Few quantitative differences were observed across consultants' competency levels, with the exception that Competent consultants posed the most clarifying statements and fewest expert opinions. However, the qualitative analysis indicated that the quality of the verbalizations best accounted for the consultants' communication skill levels. These results suggest that it is the familiarity with the Instructional Consultation model that enabled the consultant to guide the session and use effective communication. Training recommendations include building an understanding of the underlying assumptions of the consultation model and rehearsing communication skills within that context.     

When Does a Joke Cease to Amuse? The Construction of Regulatory Boundaries to Satire Following Public Complaints

This article analyzes how negotiation between social actors, the public, and the regulator over satirical texts leads to the construction of social boundaries vis-à-vis freedom of speech and creativity in a given society. It does so by analyzing 906 public complaints filed with the Israeli regulator between 2005 and 2010 and the regulators’ responses to them. According to the analysis, there are four issues that trigger public discontent regarding satirical content: broadcasting content unsuitable for children, mocking weak societal sectors, mocking national symbols, and mocking various sociopolitical sectors. The regulators’ responses to these complaints regarding each issue sheds light not only on the diverse perspectives held by these actors, but also on the role of the regulator in granting satirists maximum freedom of expression, mediating between public demands to limit such freedom and professional broadcasting norms. The article concludes by discussing the ramifications of this negotiation for the future of broadcast satire.     

Bedouin special-education teachers as agents of social change

This study probes the career motives of minority special-education teachers in the Bedouin Arab society of southern Israel. The results, obtained via in-depth interviews of teachers, show that the teachers aspire to become agents of social change in three spheres: In the external sphere, they aim for professional autonomy and independence within the Israeli Arab education system. The internal sphere includes a moral-awareness aspect of their society’s view of special education. The personal sphere includes a practical aspect, in which the teachers wish to upgrade their professional qualifications in order to cope better with challenges that they face in the field.