Bourdieu,Department Chairs and the Reform of Science Education

Using the insights of the French sociologist, Pierre Bourdieu, this article considers the role of the science department chair in the reform of school science education. Using Bourdieu’s ‘thinking tools’ of ‘field’, ‘habitus’ and ‘capital’, we case study the work of two teachers who both actively pursue the teaching and learning of science as inquiry. One teacher, Dan, has been a department chair since 2000, and has actively encouraged his department to embrace science as inquiry. The other teacher, Leslie, worked for one year in Dan’s department before being transferred to another school where science teaching continues to be more traditional. Our work suggests that there are three crucial considerations for chairs seeking to lead the reform of science teaching within their department. The first of these is the development of a reform-minded habitus, as this appears to be foundational to the capital that can be expended in the leadership of reform. The second is an understanding of how to wield power and position in the promotion of reform. The third is the capacity to operate simultaneously and strategically within, and across, two fields; the departmental field and the larger science education field. This involves downplaying administrative logics, and foregrounding more inquiry-focused logics as a vehicle to challenge traditional science-teaching dispositions—the latter being typically dominated by concerns about curriculum ‘coverage’.     

The Vocabulary of Letters of Boys and Girls 12 to 15 Years of Age Inclusive

This study presents an empirical investigation of the optimum amount of teacher intervention in experience-based instruction. Teachers trained in the Mini-Society Instructional System were asked to keep a journal of daily experiences that included their role, and the roles played by their students, in the formation of the Mini-Society. The journals were evaluated with respect to the extent of the teacher’s intervention in the Mini-Society’s development. The results indicated that non-intervention was the most effective teaching strategy, and that students in non-interventionist teachers’ classrooms showed greater acquisition of specific concepts and more autonomy than students in classrooms where the teacher used overt or covert intervention.     

BACKGROUND AND TRAINING OF TEACHERS IN JEWISH SCHOOLS: CURRENT STATUS AND LEVERS FOR CHANGE

Abstract

This paper presents a secondary analysis of data from a survey of teachers in the Jewish schools of three communities. Previous findings had shown that only 19% of teachers have professional training in both Jewish content areas and in the field of education, and despite incomplete professional backgrounds, little professional growth was required of teachers. What can be done to enhance and expand professional growth activities for teachers in Jewish schools? Analyses reported in this paper examine three possible “levers” for changing standards for professional growth: state licensing requirements for pre‐schools, state requirements for continuing education among professionally‐trained teachers, and community incentives for training of supplementary school teachers. Results indicate that pre‐school teachers in state‐licensed pre‐schools and supplementary school teachers who were paid for meeting a professional growth standard reported that they were required to attend more in‐service workshops, compared to other teachers who were not subject to these conditions. In addition, standards for the quantity of in‐service were higher among teachers who have stronger Judaic backgrounds and who are committed to a career in Jewish education.     

Participation in Education as an Invitation to Become Towards the World: Hannah Arendt on the authority,thoughtfulness and imagination of the educator

This article draws on Hannah Arendt’s analysis of authority in education, along with her insights into the workings of the imagination and the thinking process, to argue that participation in education should be conceived as an invitation to become towards the world. The potential of this invitation, the article argues, is located in the educator’s imaginative and thoughtful responsibility to receive the young as they are and as they are becoming on the one hand, and to represent the world to them, on the other hand. The ways in which this potential can be negated are examined in relation to Arendt’s accounts of non-thinking and wilfulness. The article advances to the conclusion that participation in an education is possible only where young persons are received by educators who are persistently awake to their responsibility to receive the young people they educate anew.     

Commentary

This longitudinal case study of a single school examines changes in the educational beliefs of 10 elementary‐school teachers who experienced a constructivist‐based trans‐disciplinary curriculum (CTC). After 3 years of experiencing a CTC, which emerges through theme‐oriented and project‐based learning, teachers’ educational beliefs had changed to demonstrate multiple views rather than pure beliefs. Teachers’ beliefs form a mosaic of complementary visions and the process of change in teachers’ beliefs reflects the ‘overlapping’ rather than the ‘staircase’ metaphor.     

Stepping out of the norm: an examination of praxis for a culturally‐relevant pedagogy for African‐American children

This paper examines two Anglo teachers' understanding of their praxis as they attempted to present a culturally‐relevant physical education programme to a class of African‐American 6^th‐grade students. In this case, the content was ‘stepping’, a branch of the African‐American vernacular dance tree. Five specific themes emerged: teacher apprehension; concerns about teacher legitimacy; resolution of apprehension and concerns; the unique nature of the content; and continual ethical uneasiness. The teachers expanded their understanding of praxis beyond thinking, acting, and reflecting to consider the political and social aspects that impact curriculum, pedagogy, and students.     

Selected Mechanical Factors Associated with Acceleration in Ice Skating

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the techniques of ice skating acceleration through analysis of specific characteristics of the movement pattern during a “front start” skating task. Two Locam 16 mm cameras operating at 100 frames per second were used to record side and overhead views of the first 6.0m of the skating starts of 69 male subjects. Data were collected on three skating start criteria, three structural variables, and twelve performance variables measured over the first three strides of the start. Summary statistics were generated and Pearson product moment correlation analysis was used to assess relationships between the criteria and performance variables. In addition, stepwise multiple regression analysis was used to predict time to skate 6.0m from a combination of the structural and performance variables. Results revealed that the mean time taken to skate 6.0m was 1.95 sec; the mean instantaneous velocity at the 6.0 mark was 5.75 m/s; and the mean average acceleration over 6.0m was 2.96m/s². Evaluation of correlation coefficients, the regression model and summary statistics resulted in several conclusions: (1) There is a statistically significant positive relationship between velocity attained and the average rate of acceleration over a 6.0m distance in a front style skating start. (2) There are statistically significant negative relationships between both mean acceleration and final instantaneous velocity, and the time taken to skate 6.0m in a front style skating start. (3) In general, the stride pattern associated with a high rate of acceleration and a minimal skating time in a front style skating start includes: a high stride rate, significant forward lean at the point of touchdown of the recovery skate, short single support periods, and placement of the recovery foot below the hip of the recovery leg at the end of the single support period.     

The influence of dive direction on the movement characteristics for elite football goalkeepers

This study biomechanically quantified the movement patterns for six elite goalkeepers making diving saves to their preferred and non-preferred side at three different dive heights. Synchronised three-dimensional kinematic and kinetic biomechanical data analysis found diving direction to significantly (P < 0.05) influence the movement patterns of the diving save. The non-preferred side displayed greater lateral rotation of the pelvis and thorax at the initiation event. These over-rotational differences were reduced during the time on plate phase with the thorax displaying no significant difference at take-off; although a difference still remained for the pelvis. These over rotations were subsequently linked to greater peak knee joint moments, lower peak ankle joint moments, less hip extension at take-off, and for the centre of mass (COM) to travel slower and less directly to the ball, as measured by the net projection angle at take-off. These results indicate that joint movements in the transverse plane at or before the initiation event for the dive for the pelvis and thorax are the causation for subsequent asymmetries. These observed differences indicate that there is an advantage in having prior knowledge of limb preference in an opposing goalkeeper.