“Heaven,Hell, and Here”: Understanding the Impact of Incarceration through a Prison Newspaper

Prison newspaper stories capture the quotidian atmosphere of the penitentiary as it is lived and understood by people confined there. This article analyzes a newspaper produced since 2001 at a state prison for women in the northeastern United States. The publication comes out of a journalism class taught by the author and a colleague, and is produced entirely by inmates of the prison. After situating the prison newspaper as a tool of ideological struggle, the article uses symbolic convergence theory to provide a fantasy theme analysis of the texts and to illuminate the rhetorical vision they create for their authors and audiences. The newspaper expresses inmates' struggles to overcome the degradations of confinement with spirituality, compassion, pragmatism, and even humor.     

Evaluation of a school‐based sex education programme delivered to Grade Nine students in Canada

The effectiveness of a multidimensional Canadian sex education programme was evaluated using 240 Grade Nine students. The intervention was offered by representatives from various community groups and involved instructional classes on anatomy/physiology of the reproductive system and sexually transmitted infections, a video and group discussion on healthy relationships, a form of ‘peer education’ and discussion on teen pregnancy and HIV/AIDS, as well as a parent workshop and newsletter on teen sexuality. Respondents in the intervention and control groups completed a self‐administered questionnaire at baseline and one month after the programme. Compared with the control group, students in the intervention group showed positive changes in the areas of knowledge, sex‐role attitudes, sexual interaction values, and the perception that birth control is important. These results suggest that a collaborative effort of outside professionals from various community organisations and involvement of ‘peer educators’ to provide sexual health education in Grade Nine high school classes may be a useful strategy.     

INDIGENOUS STUDENTS’ EXPERIENCES OF THE HIDDEN CURRICULUM IN SCIENCE EDUCATION: A CROSS-NATIONAL STUDY IN NEW ZEALAND AND TAIWAN

The tacit messages transmitted to indigenous learners in the science classroom provide a lens through which indigenous disengagement with school science can be better understood. In this paper, the findings of a cross-national comparative study conducted with indigenous Maori students in New Zealand and Seediq/Atayal students in Taiwan are discussed from a sociological perspective. The purposes of the present study were to explore the ways in which indigenous elementary school students in two industrialized nations experience the science curriculum and to identify the socialization processes through which patterns of indigenous under-achievement in science are maintained and reproduced. The findings suggest that the peripheral positioning of indigenous culture and knowledge within the science curriculum in developed nations underpins a series of tacit pedagogical codes that contribute to indigenous student disengagement with the subject.     

Museums and Technology: Being Inclusive Helps Accessibility for All

This paper explores accessibility issues for museums in the context of growing dependence on technology. The background of these issues is described, along with the evolution from physical access to digital access—for example, via the Web—and, increasingly, mobile technology. The authors are people with different disabilities and they describe personal experiences, giving a sense of the various barriers and benefits that are involved. The aim of this paper is to provide museums with a disabled person's point of view, which could help in inspiring improvements for the future. Often the task is one of understanding as much as financial constraints, since many solutions can be implemented at little additional cost.     

Leadership Effectiveness and School Development: Putting Reform in Perspective

System‐wide and school‐based initiatives continue to be linked through staff and leadership development programs. Factors such as reduced funding are having an impact on structures and organization. The clear focus on instruction and school based planning have helped the district maintain its direction while adapting initiatives to meet changing needs and resources.     

Cultural and Economic Ties: Developing Links and Relationships Between the Chinese and Australian Publishing Industries

The publishing industry in China has changed rapidly since the 1970s and 1980s, in large part due to increasing ties with the West. The Chinese Government has begun encouraging these ties, recognising the importance of cultural links as well as economic ones. Australia is one of those countries with which China’s publishing industry has been developing a relationship, predominantly through shared publishing projects and international forums. Australia has a long history of Chinese publishing; and the demand for Chinese language materials in Australia is growing. As such, it is likely that the relationship between the publishing industries in the two nations will grow and develop in coming years.     

Some Cognitive and Affective Outcomes of Same-Sex versus Coeducational Grouping in First Grade

Coeducational grouping in classrooms was instituted a century ago as an economical way of assuring good schooling for girls. The justification for coeducation was summarized by Thomas Woody (15) as “realistic, economically advantageous, and a wholesome socializing experience for both sexes, as well as the best way of providing equal educational opportunity for women.” However, coeducational classroom organization may have a deterring effect on some children’s early school progress, considering present knowledge of developmental growth patterns which indicate that young boys mature more slowly than girls of the same chronological age. The child’s initial school experience in the first grade learning environment can set the stage for later learning progress. Attitudes about self and others, as well as early learning styles can affect children’s performance in school. There is little definitive research to support coeducational grouping as the optimal grouping pattern for first grade boys and girls.