Female and minority experiences in an astronomy-based science hobby

Cultural Studies of Science Education - Despite policy changes and targeted outreach, issues of underrepresentation persist for women and minorities in science fields. Previous research has...     

The developmental origins of a default moral response: A shift from honesty to dishonesty

People are sometimes tempted to lie for their own benefit if it would not harm others. For adults, dishonesty is the default response in these circumstances. The developmental origins of this phenomenon were investigated between 2019 and 2021 among 6- to 11-year-old Han Chinese children from China (N = 548, 49% female). Children had an opportunity to win prizes in a behavioral economics game (Experiment 1) or a temptation resistance game adapted from developmental psychology (Experiment 2). In each experiment, the youngest children showed a default tendency of honesty and there was an overall age-related shift toward a default tendency of dishonesty. These findings provide direct evidence of developmental change in the automatic and controlled processes that underlie moral behavior.     

Commentary on vocational mathematics education: where mathematics education confronts the realities of people’s work

In this commentary I will address the notions of work, the need for innovation, and the role of workplace mathematics. I will then provide an overview of some of the complex issues that confront the subfield of vocational mathematics education with consequences for current and future workers, drawing in part on the work of Basil Bernstein. Finally, I will address the question of workplace research and offer some possible directions for future research, as well as implications for policy. Reflections on the articles included in this special issue will frame the discussion.     

Urban Pre-service K-6 Teachers’ Conceptions of Citizenship and Civic Education: Weighing the Risks and Rewards

To effectively help urban pre-service teachers to provide civic education opportunities in their future classrooms, teacher educators should know how urban pre-service teachers themselves conceptualize citizenship and civic engagement. Through the research question—how do urban K-6 pre-service teachers currently enrolled in an urban education teacher certification program at a 4-year university construct key concepts and ideologies about citizenship and civic education?—we examined how 15 pre-service teachers understood these concepts. Using three conceptions of citizenship—personally responsible citizen, participatory citizen, and justice-oriented citizen (Westheimer and Kahne in Am Educ Res J 41(2):237–269, 2004)—our analysis demonstrated that urban pre-service teachers’ conceptions of their students’ lives significantly influenced their ideas about civic education in elementary schools. Although the participating pre-service teachers overwhelmingly promoted personally responsible citizenship, we found the participants to heavily weigh developmentally appropriate practice and classroom context when considering the risks and rewards of promoting justice-oriented citizenship in elementary classrooms.     

Pre-service teachers’ growth as practitioners of developmentally appropriate practice: a Vygotskian analysis of constraints and affordances in the English context

This paper reports on an ongoing research programme designed to investigate the opportunities for, and barriers to, pre-service teachers’ growth as practitioners of developmentally appropriate practice for children aged 5–11. The analysis is framed by a Vygotskian cultural–historical perspective and points to personal, cultural and structural factors as potential constraints immanent in the various configurations produced by the pre-service teacher–environment interface. The paper concludes by confirming Vygotsky’s contention that development possibilities lie immanent in the contradictions produced by these specific configurations of constraints and affordances. Potential implications for teacher education programmes are also discussed, including the possibilities for facilitating the growth of critical teacher-researcher identities in what is currently a contested education landscape.     

Emotional and behavioural development in Glasgow primary schools

Studies examining the well-being of British children find that about 5–10% are at risk of developing problems. This study aimed to examine the emotional and behavioural development of six to eight year olds in an area of socio-economic deprivation in Glasgow (Scotland) and compare this with UK norms. Furthermore, it aimed to look at overlap between the problems children had. It was a population-based survey involving parents and teachers of 1658 children. The study found that the overall emotional and behavioural development in this deprived population was surprisingly similar to UK norms. There was however a small group of children with overlapping problems. There is an emphasis within Glasgow on supporting young people's social, emotional and behavioural needs, particularly with regard to nurture and attachment. Implications of Glasgow initiatives are discussed, and their potential role in helping children from deprived backgrounds maintain levels of emotional and behavioural development in line with UK norms and, in particular, this group with overlapping problems is explored.     

No Parent Left Behind: Strengthening Ties Between Educators and African American Parents/Guardians

This study used regression analyses to identify variables predicting the six most frequently cited problems that concerned 129 African-American parents and guardians of children who were primarily enrolled in urban schools. The findings indicate that in order to increase African-American parents' and guardians' satisfaction with the public school system, the racial climate in schools must be improved; unfair disciplinary practices must be eradicated; and curricula and instructional practices must be reformed specifically in areas that result in the strengthening of African-American students' math and reading-comprehension skills.     

Teaching Systems Thinking in the Context of the Water Cycle

Research in Science Education - Complex systems affect every part of our lives from the ecosystems that we inhabit and share with other living organisms to the systems that supply our water (i.e.,...     

The Curious Case of the Deaf and Contested Landscapes of Bilingual Education

In this article, the authors examine deaf education as a “curious case” to prompt thinking about issues of language inequities. The authors argue that tying the fortunes of deaf students to those of other language minority students provides opportunities for new insights into policies and practices of deaf education as well the education of other language minorities in American schools. The authors provide a case example of successful deaf bilingual education that challenges the equation of deaf communicative difference with academic failure. They conclude with a discussion of American bilingual education history and how a consideration of the “curious case” of deaf education opens up possibilities for expanding understandings of more general issues of language difference in education.