Intelligence testing: the legitimation of a meritocratic educational science

This chapter addresses the origin, legacy, and persistence of intelligence testing in the United States as a process whereby education was colonized by the field of psychology. The convergence of events which fostered the development of intelligence tests and which maintain them in high standing link the history of schooling to the larger field of social change and reinforce the idea that schools are inseparable from the social climate of which they are a product. Intelligent tests were created as, and are, efficient sorting mechanisms in schools that reflect dominant values and contribute to social stability by justifying unequal educational outcomes as a natural and objective process. In spite of their seemingly meritocratic potential, intelligence tests are a primary mechanism for the reproductive role of schooling in society as reinforcing class, race, and ethnic biases.     

THE CENTRAL AGENCY AND EDUCATIONAL RESPONSIBILITY TO THE LEARNER,THE FAMILY AND THE COMMUNITY

During several of the sessions of the Council of Jewish Education at the annual Conference of Jewish Communal Service held in Baltimore, June 2–5, 1985, the critical relationships of the central agency for Jewish education were examined. The symposium that follows represents three of the papers delivered at the conference with an introduction by Dr. Elliot Schwartz, who coordinated the CJE sessions.     

Pediatric cochlear implantation: a qualitative study of parental decision-making processes in Flanders, Belgium

Factors contributing to parents' decision when they choose between cochlear implantation (CI) and traditional hearing aids for their child were examined. The subjects were children with severe/profound hearing loss, born 1999-2001, registered in the universal neonatal hearing screening program in the Flanders region of Belgium. Qualitative data collected retrospectively from parents were subjected to thematic content analysis. In their responses to professional advice, parents were segmented into 3 groups: (a) those whose primary considerations were the importance of oral language development and the relative potential of CI and traditional hearing aids; (b) those for whom alternative factors (e.g., medical risks, ethical issues) were paramount, even in the face of professional advocacy of CI; (c) those who followed professional advice against CI. The researchers conclude that care professionals should be sensitive to the impact of their advice and other factors in parental decision making.