Exploring social constructivism: theories and practicalities

In the drive to improve standards, the collection and dissemination of numerical data still directs much contemporary educational policy. However, recent publications and debates seemingly attempt to reorient discussion from performance to learning. In support, constructivism is often referenced as a contributor in this endeavour. However, constructivism is not a single unified theory either of knowledge or pedagogy. This article identifies one version of constructivist thinking, social constructivism, both in terms of its underlying epistemology (theory of knowledge) and related pedagogy. Contemporary educational theories are then outlined to demonstrate that many practical solutions and theoretical ideas now presented as ‘good learning and teaching’ have much in common with social constructivist thinking. Finally, the article concludes by identifying two issues that require further discussion and debate if pedagogy of a social constructivist nature is to be considered.     

Knowledge of Normal and Pathological Memory Aging in College Students,Social Workers,and Health Care Professionals

The Knowledge of Memory Aging Questionnaire (KMAQ) measures laypersons' knowledge of normal memory changes and pathological memory deficits in adulthood. In Experiment 1, undergraduate and graduate social work students and social work practitioners completed the KMAQ. Social workers and graduate students were more accurate on the pathological than normal memory aging items, but undergraduate students' knowledge did not differ by question type. Experiment 2 was a conceptual replication where the same pattern of outcomes was obtained using a more heterogeneous sample to increase the ecological validity of the findings. Results confirmed that nonmedical and medical staff at an assisted living facility and health care professionals were more accurate on the pathological than normal memory aging items. Community college and university students' accuracy was similar across question type. Implications for research and the design of education programs to increase awareness of normal and pathological memory deficits in late life are considered.     

Maternal Education Preferences Moderate the Effects of Mandatory Employment and Education Programs on Child Positive and Problem Behaviors

Grounded in person–environment fit theory, this study examined whether low‐income mothers’ preferences for education moderated the effects of employment‐ and education‐focused welfare programs on children’s positive and problem behaviors. The sample included 1,365 families with children between ages 3 and 5 years at study entry. Results 5 years after random assignment, when children were ages 8–10 years, indicated that mothers’ education preferences did moderate program impacts on teacher‐reported child behavior problems and positive behavior. Children whose mothers were assigned to the education program were rated by teachers to have less externalizing behavior and more positive behavior than children whose mothers were assigned to the employment program but only when mothers had strong preferences for education.     

Immersion Learning in Social Work Education: A Pedagogical Tool for Enriching Knowledge and Practice Skills among BSW Students

Immersion learning is one form of experiential education and has great utility in social work education. However, there is limited research on student learning outcomes from immersion learning courses in social work education. This ethnographic research describes an immersion learning course offered to BSW students (N = 9) and the learning outcomes gained. This semester-long course focused on macrolevel practice with people experiencing poverty, homelessness, and the sexual exploitation of women. As part of this course, students went on a weeklong immersion trip, where they visited a dozen human service organizations and interacted with people experiencing poverty and homelessness. Qualitative analysis produced three findings. First, students reported that these interactions helped them realize their biases and impacted their understanding of poverty. Second, students reported enhanced social work practice skills, such as cultural competency, self-awareness, and interpersonal expertise. They also gained a better appreciation for macrolevel practice. Third, students reported a better understanding of how to deploy classroom knowledge in practice and how to apply what they learned back in the classroom. These findings have implications for undergraduate social work education and how immersion learning programs can be a tool for enriching both knowledge and practice skills.     

Development and Validation of Instruments to Measure Learning of Expert‐Like Thinking

This paper describes the process for creating and validating an assessment test that measures the effectiveness of instruction by probing how well that instruction causes students in a class to think like experts about specific areas of science. The design principles and process are laid out and it is shown how these align with professional standards that have been established for educational and psychological testing and the elements of assessment called for in a recent National Research Council study on assessment. The importance of student interviews for creating and validating the test is emphasized, and the appropriate interview procedures are presented. The relevance and use of standard psychometric statistical tests are discussed. Additionally, techniques for effective test administration are presented.     

Interviewing objects: including educational technologies as qualitative research participants

This article argues the importance of including significant technologies‐in‐use as key qualitative research participants when studying today’s digitally enhanced learning environments. We gather a set of eight heuristics to assist qualitative researchers in ‘interviewing’ technologies‐in‐use (or other relevant objects), drawing on concrete examples from our own qualitative research projects. Our discussion is informed by Actor‐Network Theory and hermeneutic phenomenology, as well as by the literatures of techno‐science, media ecology, and the philosophy of technology.     

Exploring meaning-making with adolescents ‘left behind’ by migration

This paper focuses on a population that has received little attention in migration and in youth-related research: those ‘left behind’ when parents migrate to the United States in search of a better life for their families. Findings presented here are drawn from two sets of workshops with Mayan youth participants in the Southern Quiché region of Guatemala who have been directly (one or both parents have migrated) or indirectly (friends, relatives or neighbors have migrated) affected by migration. Through participatory action research processes, we have found that youth report parents’ departures in search of a better life for the family while also describing their yearning for them to return. Most viewed the United States as a discriminatory place where life is treacherous, including for their own family members. Despite this, they reported deep desires to migrate there. We discuss these findings in light of the direct and indirect messages that youth receive from their teachers who often discourage their dreams to journey north, and ourselves, participatory action researchers who work with their families in the United States and travel regularly to spend time with them in Guatemala. The strengths and challenges of participatory action research with this population are addressed.     

PROTECTing the figure of innocence: child pornography legislation and the queerness of childhood

In US v. Williams (2008), the Supreme Court upheld the PROTECT Act; this law's “pandering provision” prohibits the distribution and solicitation of child pornography, but does not distinguish between real child pornography and “virtual” child pornography (images that are digitally created or manipulated and do not depict a real child). Situating this case at the intersection of rhetorical studies of the law and queer studies, I read the Court's opinions as rhetorical and cultural texts that circulate a strategic figuration of the child that emphasizes its sexual purity, vulnerability, and whiteness, and disavows the queerness of childhood desires. I argue that the Court's decision virtualizes the figuration of the child through the performative “collateral speech” act, ultimately conflating virtual materials with real children. Furthermore, I contend that the language of the law, as it taxonomizes and disciplines illicit desires, also expresses desire through its passionate figurations of childhood innocence and adult sexual morality.