Developing phoneme awareness through alphabet books

Previous research suggests that children who are successful in phoneme awareness tasks also have high levels of alphabet knowledge. One connection between the two might be alphabet books. Such books typically include both letter-name information and phonological information about initial sounds (B is for bear). It may be that children who are read alphabet books, and thus understand how B is for bear, will learn both letter names and be able to isolate phonemes. To examine this, we gave three treatments to different groups of prekindergarteners. In the first group, the teacher read conventional alphabet books. In the second, the teacher read books chosen to contain the letter names only, without example words to demonstrate sound values. The third group, a control, read only storybooks. We found that all groups gained in print concept and letter knowledge over the course of the study. The conventional alphabet group made significantly greater gains in phoneme awareness than the group that read books about letters without example words, suggesting that conventional alphabet books may be one route to the development of phoneme awareness.     

Discourses on information ethics: The claim to universality

An important question one can ask of ethical theories is whether and how they aim to raise claims to universality. This refers to the subject area that they intend to describe or govern and also to the question whether they claim to be binding for all (moral) agents. This paper discusses the question of universality of Luciano Floridi’s information ethics (IE). This is done by introducing the theory and discussing its conceptual foundations and applications. The emphasis will be placed on the ontological grounding of IE. IE’s claims to universality will be contrasted with those raised by discourse ethics. This comparison of two pertinent ethical theories allows for a critical discussion of areas where IE currently has room for elaboration and development.     

Corporate practices and ethical tensions: Researching social justice values and neoliberal paradoxes in a ‘no excuses’ charter school

In recent years, there has been growing debate over the corporatisation of schooling, specifically the managerial practices of expanding charter school networks in the USA, often referred to as charter management organisations (CMOs). By definition, CMOs are consistently high-performing, well-financed networks of small schools operating in urban spaces, which adhere to a very specific ‘no excuses’ (NE) model of education in serving primarily students of colour living in poverty. This article is an autoethnographic account of my work as a leader in a CMO, which I theorise as a neoliberal project. We know very little of how neoliberal policies and ideologies are enacted in daily school life. I consider how the ethical responsibility of an educator is positioned within the daily practices and lived experience of leaders and educators working in a CMO. In focusing on my own ethical tensions, the article captures how this corporatised model of schooling influenced my values as an educator, my conflicted sense of social justice and the emotional labour of enacting a model of schooling founded on surveillance and accountability.     

Technology,capabilities and critical perspectives: what can critical theory contribute to Sen’s capability approach?

This paper explores what insights can be drawn from critical theory to enrich and strengthen Sen’s capability approach in relation to technology and human development. The two theories share some important commonalities: both are concerned with the pursuit of “a good life”; both are normative theories rooted in ethics and meant to make a difference, and both are interested in democracy. The paper provides a brief overview of both schools of thought and their applications to technology and human development. Three areas are identified where critical theory can make a contribution to the capability approach: conceptually, by providing a critical account of individual agency and enriching the concept of technology beyond the simplistic notion of commodities; methodologically, by sensitising towards reification and hegemony of scientific tools, and, finally, by emphasising reflexivity of researchers.     

A PRELIMINARY TYPOLOGY OF MOTIVATIONAL ORIENTATIONS OF COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS

The purpose of this study was to identify the reasons students were enrolled in individual courses at one metropolitan community college. Unstructured interviews, supplemented by participant observation, were used to collect data on students in eight transfer and occupational day classes observed in Fall 1980. On the basis of their motivational orientations toward individual courses, most students were classified as requirement meeters, knowledge seekers, or specific information users. These three motivational orientations were compared along three dimensions: (1) the student's major criterion of success, (2) the aspect (instrumental or expressive) of education the student emphasized, and (3) the willingness of the student to tolerate a time‐lag prior to the application of acquired knowledge and/or skills. Less common motivational orientations also were identified. The data showed that students could be guided by more than one motivational orientation or change their initial motivational orientation toward a course as the result of classroom experiences. The modal type of student in this sample was a requirement meeter. Requirement meeters establish norms whereby students derive status by spending as little time as possible on school‐related matters.     

Emancipation in cross-cultural IS research: The fine line between relativism and dictatorship of the intellectual

Critical research is becoming increasingly accepted as a valid approach to research in information systems. It is deemed to be particularly suitable for situations where researchers want to address conspicuous injustice, such as in areas of development or the digital divide. Critical research in information systems (CRIS), I will argue, is a possible approach to some of the ethical problems arising in the context of information and communication technology (ICT). It can be sensitive to the question of culture and therefore suitable for researching cross-cultural ethical questions in ICT. It is often unclear, however, what exactly critical research stands for and to what extent critical approaches are applicable across cultural boundaries. This paper will address these problems by proposing a definition of critical research as focused on changing the status quo and aiming for emancipation. It will then look at the question whether different cultures are compatible and comparable and what the role of culture in research on information systems is. The paper will then return to the question whether the critical intention to emancipate and empower humans is an expression of cultural imperialism or whether there are valid ways of promoting emancipation across cultural divides.     

Influence of word meaning on the acquisition of a reading vocabulary in second-grade children

The acquisition of a reading vocabulary for abstract and concrete words was examined in 62 second-grade children. Words had been learned as part of a basal reader program or as part of outside reading. Word recognition speed and reading accuracy were examined for abstract and concrete words using lexical decision and word naming tasks. The size of the concreteness effect was similar for both processing tasks. In neither task did concreteness influence reaction times, but abstract words were read with less accuracy than concrete words in both tasks. Further, these concreteness effects in reading accuracy were larger for words that were part of a basal reading program than for words acquired during free reading. We conclude that word meaning influences the entry of words at a time when children are developing a sizeable reading vocabulary.     

The Fourfold Gap: preparing teachers for educating the culturally different

In many countries teachers belonging to the dominant group, either by descent or through enculturation, confront children and youth whose ethnic, cultural, religious or social background is partly or totally different. To teach teachers to deal effectively with the problems caused by these differences, it is proposed to make use of the model of a ‘Fourfold Gap’ between the teacher and the student who belongs to another community: linguistic, cognitive, cultural and social. Within the framework of this model, concrete examples should be used, of the type usually encountered in the daily work of a teacher. A sample of these, taken from Israeli schools, is presented. Measures should be taken to counteract possible negative effects of this method: the emphasis on differences, neglecting similarities; and apprehensions about this ability to deal with situations which seem to require a very high level of knowledge. Use of the model in teacher training and inservice education in Israel has shown its potential for improving teaching in multicultural classrooms.