Cultural diversity in science education through Novelization: Against the Epicization of science and cultural centralization

Science educators are confronted with the challenge to accommodate in their classes an increasing cultural and linguistic diversity that results from globalization. Challenged by the call to work towards valuing and keeping this diversity in the face of the canonical nature of school science discourse, we propose a new way of thinking about and investigating these problems. Drawing on the work of Mikhail Bakhtin, we articulate epicization and novelization as concepts that allow us to understand, respectively, the processes of (a) centralizing and homogenizing culture and language and (b) pluralizing culture and language. We present and analyze three examples that exhibit how existing mundane science education practices tend, by means of epicization, towards a unitary language and to cultural centralization. We then propose novelization as a way for thinking the opening up of science education by interacting with and incorporating alternative forms of knowing that arise from cultural diversity. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 48: 824–847, 2011     

Subtypes of developmental dyslexia: The influence of definitional variables

The purpose of this study was to investigate the hypothesis that the manner in which a reading disability is defined will influence the conclusions that are made about the characteristics of the disability. To test this hypothesis, learning disabled and normally achieving children, aged 6 to 14, were administered tasks measuring grammatical, shortterm memory, phonological, reading, and visual-spatial skills. The poor readers were divided into groups of poor readers with

Masculinity, moral atmosphere, and moral functioning of high school football players

In order to identify factors associated with on-field moral functioning among student athletes within the unique context of football, we examined masculine gender role conflict, moral atmosphere, and athletic identity. Using structural equation modeling to assess survey data from 204 high school football players, results demonstrated that moral atmosphere (i.e., the influence of coaches and teammates) was significantly associated with participants' process of on-field moral functioning across the levels of judgment, intention, and behavior. Neither masculine gender role conflict nor athletic identity significantly predicted moral functioning, but the results indicated that participants' identification with the athlete role significantly predicted conflict with socialized gender roles. Results suggest that in the aggressive and violent sport of football, coaches can have a direct influence on players' moral functioning process. Coaches can also have an indirect effect by influencing all the players so that a culture of ethical play can be cultivated among teammates and spread from the top down.     

Does training make a difference to quality in family child care?

The purpose of this study was to determine which family child care providers seek training, which providers drop out of training, and the effects of training on the quality of care offered by providers. One-hundred thirty family child care providers in three communities who enrolled in Family-to-Family training participated in the study. A comparison group consisted of 112 regulated providers in those same communities who were not involved in the training program under investigation. Each provider was observed for 3 hrs, was interviewed, and completed questionnaires. Providers in training were observed prior to training and 6 months afterwards. Results revealed that providers who sought training were very similar to typical regulated providers. Providers who dropped out of training were less experienced and used fewer business and safety practices than providers who completed it. Training increased global quality in two out of three sites, but did not affect process quality. Of 95 providers, 18 made observable (as opposed to statistically significant) improvements in quality following training, and 9 decreased in quality. These data are interpreted with respect to family child care training policies and practices.     

Spectacular Bodies: The Swimsuit,Sexuality and Hollywood

This article explores the mutually beneficial relationship between the American swimsuit and film industries during the first three decades of the twentieth century. Three examples will be used: Fatty and the Bathing Beauties from 1913 (prior to regulated film content), Footlight Parade from 1933 (when limited self-regulation had been put in place, but was not yet rigorously enforced) and the Tarzan film franchise (which spans both the second period and a later, third period of actual implementation and subsequent negotiation). Using these examples, the paper will consider several of the popular associations attached to the swimmer and the swimsuit. It will discuss the ways in which Hollywood utilised the swimsuit, the swimmer and swimming in both its films and its promotional materials and will demonstrate how through the sporting associations of both the garment and sports stars, film producers negotiated the processes of censorship and self-regulation while allowing the continued use of semi-naked and eroticised bodies, to their own profit and to that of the increasingly fashionable swimwear industry.     

Predicting Day-to-Day Changes in Students’ School-Related Affect From Daily Academic Experiences and Social Interactions

This study examined the role that everyday academic successes and failures—and the interactions with family members and peers that follow these events—play in predicting day-to-day changes in children's emotional responses to school. Middle school students (N = 101; mean age = 11.62 years) completed daily assessments of their academic experiences, performance disclosures, perceptions of emotional support, and school-related affect. Data were analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling. Results indicated that students’ daily academic experiences and social interactions varied by both sex and interaction partner, and that students’ daily academic experiences and social interactions were predictive of day-to-day changes in both positive and anxious affect. The implications of these findings for students’ interpersonal relationships and school adjustment are discussed.