New Interpretive Methods and Techniques

Environmental education (EE) and social studies education share an interest in behavioral outcomes. This study compares behavioral outcomes—including both self-reported knowledge of actions and reported actions taken—in the context of a land use curriculum enacted in secondary science versus social studies classes with 500 students and nine teachers. Data included pre- and posttests for comparison and intervention groups, classroom observations, and student and teacher interviews. Results indicated that students tended to know and undertake individual rather than collective actions toward sustainable land use. The type of actions students identified varied by course type: when the EE curriculum was presented in science class compared to social studies, students showed less diverse knowledge of actions in support of sustainable land use.     

Participation politics: African parents’ negotiation of social identities in school governance and its policy implications

Although there is evidence of parental participation in school governance in South Africa, the question of how these parents manage their participation in these affairs is largely unanswered. This question represents one of the major exclusions in the existing reflections on the school governance debate in the country. Using a qualitative approach, this study investigated the underlying dynamics of social identity as a factor in parents’ engagement in school governance in 10 schools in the Eastern Cape. It provides evidence of the fragmented and dynamic nature of social identity and how it shaped behaviours among the parents. While challenging many contemporary social theories, the paper suggests several implications for policy re‐formulation.     

Re-conceptualising the concept of a nexus? A survey of 12 Scottish IS/IM academics’ perceptions of a nexus between teaching,research, scholarship and consultancy

Abstract

This article starts with a personal perspective written by Stephen Rowland. This is responded to in each of the four contributions which follow. In order to stimulate debate from a wide basis of experience, Catherine Byron, Frank Furedi, Nicky Padfield and Terry Smyth were invited to respond as academics from very different disciplinary backgrounds and types of Higher Education institution in the UK.

In a brief conclusion to the article, Stephen Rowland draws together the contributions. Questions are raised for further discussion, reflection and research amongst those concerned to develop higher education teaching, and to resist the managerialist discourse which dominates in this field.

We hope that the article will stimulate debate amongst readers of the journal from different parts of higher education at a time when the very purpose of higher education is itself in a state of flux. We suspect that the issues raised here apply in many countries and would particularly welcome a response from readers not in the UK.     

Flattening generalization gradients, context, and perceptual learning

The present research investigated the effects of physical context change and perceptual learning on generalization. In a video game, participants learned to suppress their mouse-clicking behavior in the presence of one stimulus (AX). Generalization was observed between the AX stimulus and another stimulus (BX) that was designed to be similar. When testing was conducted in a context different from that in which AX was used in training, responding to AX was attenuated, and responding to BX was enhanced. That is, the generalization gradient flattened. The latter effect was only evident in groups for which generalization had been reduced through a preexposure manipulation believed to produce perceptual learning. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the increase in generalization observed in the first experiment was due to the context change between the preexposure and test rather than to a change between the conditioning and test contexts. Implications for flattening generalization gradients and mechanisms of perceptual learning are discussed.     

Conditioned cardiac and behavioral response topography to an olfactory CS dissociates with age

Conditioned cardiac and behavioral responses to an olfactory stimulus (CS) paired with electric shock (US) were studied in 16-, 23-, and 75-day-old rats. Heart rate and behavior were recorded during a single 15-trial training session in which a 10-sec olfactory stimulus (amyl acetate) was either paired or explicitly unpaired with the US. In the preweanling rats, the conditioned cardiac response consisted of anincrease in heart rate (tachycardia) and a slight increase in investigatory behaviors. In contrast, the conditioned cardiac response in the adult rats consisted of adecrease in heart rate (bradycardia) and a striking increase in behavioral immobility (freezing). The 23-day-old rats showed a dichotomous pattern of responding; some showed preweanling-like conditioned responses and some showed adultlike responses. Developmental changes in neural organization and degree of learning are discussed as possible determinants of the transition from infant to adult modes of responding.     

Teachers' perceptions of behavior problems in children from intact,single-parent,and stepparent families

This study examined differences in the incidence of behavior problems between children living with both natural parents and those in single-parent or in stepparent families. Subjects were 3,644 white children in kindergarten through eighth grade; 2,991 were living with both of their own parents; 312 with mother only; 43 with father only; 264 with mother and stepfather; and 34 with father and stepmother. Teachers provided background information and Behavior Problem Checklist ratings on the youngsters. Compared to children from intact homes, those living with mother only had more problems checked on all five scales of the checklist; those with father only, more Socialized Delinquency; those with mother and stepfather, more Conduct Problems and Socialized Delinquency; and those with father and stepmother, more Conduct Problems. Interactions were found for sex, social class, and grade in school.