Setting a Non-Agenda: Effects of a Perceived Lack of Problems in Recent News or Twitter

The mere perception that news has given certain problems more coverage can lead the audience to assume that those problems are more important. Given that the news media, at times, obsesses over relatively trivial matters, and given that the audience is increasingly able to filter media exposure, it is worth asking what happens when audience members perceive that recent media coverage has not emphasized any very important problems. In such cases, audience members might assume that any problems facing the nation must not be particularly important. We explicate this attitude of political complacency, test whether perceived media agendas lacking important problems can influence it, and explore whether complacency helps explain political disengagement. We also explore whether these effects generalize beyond news, to new media gatekeepers such as Twitter. Two experiments tested effects of a perceived absence of important problems in recent news or Twitter content. In the case of news, but not Twitter, this increased complacency in both studies. Study 2 added a no-exposure control and found that effects on complacency were driven by the cueing of nonproblem stories, not by the absence of problem story cues. Both studies validated complacency as a predictor of political disengagement.     

Negotiating science and engineering: an exploratory case study of a reform-minded science teacher

Engineering has been slowly integrated into K-12 science classrooms in the United States as the result of recent science education reforms. Such changes in science teaching require that a science teacher is confident with and committed to content, practices, language, and cultures related to both science and engineering. However, from the perspective of the science teacher, this would require not only the development of knowledge and pedagogies associated with engineering, but also the construction of new identities operating within the reforms and within the context of their school. In this study, a middle school science teacher was observed and interviewed over a period of nine months to explore his experiences as he adopted new values, discourses, and practices and constructed his identity as a reform-minded science teacher. Our findings revealed that, as the teacher attempted to become a reform-minded science teacher, he constantly negotiated his professional identities – a dynamic process that created conflicts in his classroom practices. Several differences were observed between the teacher’s science and engineering instruction: hands-on activities, depth and detail of content, language use, and the way the teacher positioned himself and his students with respect to science and engineering. Implications for science teacher professional development are discussed.     

Reasonable Adjustments in Assessment: Putting Law and Policy into Practice in Australia

The Australian Disability Standards for Education 2005 (Cth) require education providers to make reasonable adjustments in educational assessment so that students with disability can participate on the same basis as other students and be able to demonstrate what they know and can do. Reasonableness is governed by a determination of the balance of interests, benefits and detriment to the parties involved. The Standards require providers to consult with students and associates on adjustments, although guidance on how consultation should occur and how the views of students and associates are to be taken into account is vague. In this article, we identify three principles to be considered in order to put appropriate and effective reasonable adjustments in assessment into practice. While Australian law and assessment contexts are used to examine intentions, expectations and practices in educational assessment for students with disability, we argue that these three principles must be considered in any national education system to ensure equitable assessment practices and achieve equitable educational inclusion for students with disability.     

Parental Self-efficacy and Sensitivity During Playtime Interactions with Young Children: Unpacking the Curvilinear Association

Although scholars and service providers typically assume that parental self-efficacy (PSE) facilitates sensitive parenting, this study finds that the association between PSE and observer ratings of parents' sensitivity during free play actually is curvilinear. Parents (33 mothers, 5 fathers) from an intergenerational learning program serving low-income families completed the Self-Efficacy for Parenting Tasks Index and were videotaped during a 15-minute play period with their infant/toddler at program entry. Parents' self-reported PSE is positively, albeit weakly, associated with observer ratings of parental sensitivity from low to moderate levels of self-efficacy but inversely associated with sensitivity from moderate to high self-efficacy. Qualitative analyses show that mothers who report high PSE but are rated as low in sensitivity introduce toys when their child is already engaged, restrict their child's access to toys, physically manipulate their child, and violate their child's proximal space. Parenting education programs need to develop strategies for reaching parents who enter with high levels of confidence but lack knowledge of competent parenting practices.     

Questioning Secondary Inclusive Education: Are Inclusive Classrooms Always Best for Students?

Educating students with special needs in inclusive settings has become a priority for westernized governments as they strive to create more inclusive societies. While recognizing the societal benefits of inclusion, teachers and parents question whether or not implementation of full inclusion will come at the expense of learners’ individual needs. This is particularly true for students with cognitive disabilities moving into the content-rich, peer-dominated environment of secondary school. It will be maintained within this article that there remains a need for segregated classrooms where students with mild cognitive disabilities can receive the specialized programming and supports that they require in a low-stress environment. Furthermore, educators should continue to prioritize the learning needs of all students with disabilities when contemplating full inclusion. Modeling an inclusive society should not mean inclusion at all costs, but considering what’s best for each student and recognizing that one size does not fit all.     

Drugs and the Brain: Learning the impact of methamphetamine abuse on the brain through a virtual brain exhibit in the museum

Drugs and the Brain: A Serious Game, a prototype museum exhibit, was designed to employ virtual models of the brain into a video game format. It was done to create a fun and engaging way of conveying knowledge and concepts about neuroscience, as well as the impact of methamphetamine abuse on the brain. The purpose of this study is to evaluate this prototype exhibit that promises to educate participants from various age, ethnicity, and gender backgrounds, and to establish a stronger concept of drug abuse prevention among children. A quantitative methodology using the pre‐ and post‐experimental designs was conducted on 175 museum visitors. A series of two‐sample paired t‐tests and subsequent ANOVAs were performed to examine the difference between pre‐ and post‐tests and to determine if there was a difference in the results in age, gender, ethnicity, and race. Results showed that both the understanding and attitudes of the participants toward the impact of methamphetamine abuse on the brain improved significantly (p < 0.01).     

Teaching: getting it right

This autobiographical article explores the way one North American high school teacher's intuitive teaching principles developed over time. The author uses tennis as a metaphor to try to describe her feelings about the teaching process.     

Intercultural communication for health personnel

In order to develop successful health care delivery systems, both in the United States and abroad, health service workers need to understand various cultural orientations and to communicate effectively within the cultures. The authors discuss the cultural implications of health problems in three countries, the need for training health science professionals in intercultural communication, and describe an intercultural communication course designed especially for health science students at California State University, Northridge.