The Warsaw study in socio-cognitive psychology of education

The article presents one of ways, in which educational psychology in Poland has been practiced. It may be called a socio-cognitive approach. The basic concepts of this approach concern the process of interaction between educators and their children. They are: the situation, the bi-subject model, the field of shared meanings, the act of communication, levels of control, expectations, complementary roles, the typisation of persons and situations, behavioural patterns. Then, this theoretical model is ilustrated by the recent researches made in the Warsaw University. The general question of them was: how to educate to promote the development of agency in students. At the last part of the paper some directions of current researches are also presented.     

Book reviews

Bazzana, André; Cressier, Patrice; and Guichard, Pierre. Les châteaux ruraux d'al‐Andalus. Histoire et archéologie des husūn du sud‐est de l'Espagne. Preface by Pierre Toubert (Série Archéologie, XI). Madrid: Publications de la Casa de Velázquez, 1988. 326pp; illustrations (plates, maps, tables); bibliography, index.

Tāha, CAbdulwāhid Dhanūn. The Muslim Conquest and Settlement of North Africa and Spain (Exeter Arabic and Islamic Series, 3). London: Routledge, 1989. xiv + 280pp; £49.50.

Leaman, Oliver. Averroes and his Philosophy Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1988. 204pp.; £25.

Mas^cūdî. The Meadows of Cold: the Abbasids. Ed. & tr. P. Lunde & C. Stone. London: Kegan Paul International, 1989. 469 pp., 2 maps; £30.

Sirat, Colette. La philosophie juive médiévale en terre d'Islam. Paris: Presses du CNRS, 1988. 278 pp.

Epalza, Míkel de and others. Baños Arabes en el país Valenciano. [Valencia], Generalitat Valenciana: Consellería de Cultura, Educado i Ciència, 1989.157 pp., plates, figures., maps (unnumbered).

Waines, David In a Caliph's Kitchen.Medieval Arabic Cooking for the Modern Gourmet. London: Riad el‐Rayyes Books, 1989. 112pp., many illustrations; £14.

Abed, Shukri B. Aristotelian Logic and the Arabic Language in Alfārābi. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1991. xxv+201pp., two appendices, bibliography, index.

Meyerson, Mark D. The Muslims of Valencia in the Age of Fernando and Isabel: Between Coexistence and Crusade. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991. xi + 372 pp.

Zacour, Norman. Jews and Saracens in the Consilia of Oldradus de Ponte. Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies, 1990. x+144pp., index; paperback.     

Representations of nature of science in high school chemistry textbooks over the past four decades

This study assessed the representations of nature of science (NOS) in high school chemistry textbooks and the extent to which these representations have changed during the past four decades. Analyses focused on the empirical, tentative, inferential, creative, theory‐driven, and social NOS, in addition to the myth of “The Scientific Method,” the nature of scientific theories and laws, and the social and cultural embeddedness of science. A total of 14 textbooks, including five “series” spanning one to four decades, were analyzed. The textbooks commanded significant market shares in the United States and were widely used in some of the most populace states. Relevant textbook sections were scored on each of the target NOS aspects on a scale ranging from −3 to +3, which reflected the accuracy, completeness, and manner (explicit versus implicit) in which these aspects were addressed. The textbooks fared poorly in their representations of NOS. Additionally, with a few exceptions, textbook scores either did not change or decreased over the past four decades. These trends are incommensurate with the discourse in national and international science education reform documents, which has witnessed an increasing emphasis on the centrality of NOS to scientific literacy and pre‐college science education during the same time period. Assessment and evaluation strategies, and policies need to be targeted if substantial and desired changes in the ways NOS is addressed in science textbooks are to be effected. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 835–855, 2008     

Validation of the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale–Short Form across different age groups in the Turkish context

A short 12-item version of the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale–Short Form (CAAS-SF) was validated across three different age groups in the Turkish context. Scale scores demonstrated adequate to high internal consistency and 4-week test–retest reliability, good fit with the original four-factor model, factorial invariance across gender and age groups, strong convergence with the 24-item version, negative associations with trait anxiety and work stress, and positive associations with career decision self-efficacy. It was concluded that the Turkish version of the CAAS-SF appears to be a valid and reliable measure for assessing career adaptability and using it in career education and counseling process.