Moral reasoning patterns and influential factors in the context of environmental problems

This study investigated pre-service science teachers’ (PSTs’) moral reasoning patterns and the factors underlying these reasoning patterns. Local and non-local environmental dilemmas were used to examine moral reasoning patterns. An explanatory design was used with the collection and analysis of quantitative data, which was subsequently refined using qualitative interview data. For the quantitative part of the study, PSTs were asked to comment on four local and non-local environmental dilemmas (i.e. deforestation, e-waste, oil spills, and global warming). The responses were categorized as ecocentric, anthropocentric, or non-environmental reasoning. The findings showed that the participants’ moral reasoning focused on both ecocentric and anthropocentric perspectives, with a few displaying non-environmental reasoning. Concern for environmental problems was related to perceptions of whether the issue was directly related to nature, and was independent of whether the issues were local or non-local. The Moral Decision Making Interview protocol was used in the qualitative part of the study. Analysis revealed that the participants’ moral decisions were based on their resolutions in situational context and their concerns showed variations in their moral reasoning due to different factors like, effect on human life, formal principles, notion of rights, moral emotions, potential harm to others, and popular culture.     

A Qualitative Study on Turkish Preschool Children's Environmental Attitudes Through Ecocentrism and Anthropocentrism

This study explores preschool children's attitudes towards environmental issues with a focus on the issue of gender as a factor affecting their attitudes. The study sample comprised 40 preschool age children living in Ankara, Turkey. The research adopted a qualitative approach, and the data were collected through interviews in which a questionnaire was administered. The interview questionnaire was adapted from ‘The Children's Attitudes Toward the Environment Scale-Preschool Version’ which contains 15 interview questions and sub-questions. The findings of our study indicate that most of the 5–6-year-old children initially appear to have ecocentric attitudes towards environmental issues in all the dimensions. However, when the children explained their reasons for choosing one of the two pictures, their responses were evaluated as emanating from anthropocentric attitudes. No difference in the attitudes of the preschool children was detected in relation to their gender. In conclusion, this study shows that the educational programmes at the preschool stage need to be broadened and improved, particularly in the provision of outdoor study in natural settings for the children to develop a more ecocentric attitude towards the environment.     

Music and Popular Culture

Gaye Tuchman, Arlene Kaplan Daniels, and James Benet, eds. Hearth and Home: Ima9es of llomen in the Mass Media (New York: Oxford University Press, 1978—no price given, but available in hardback and paperback)

Maurice Horn's Women in the Comics (New York: Chelsea House, 1977—$15.00)

Charles K. Wolfe's Tennessee Strings: The Story of Country Music in Tennessee (Knoxville, Yniversity of Tennessee Press, 1977—$3.50, paper)

Anthony Hopkins' Downbeat Music Guide (London and New York: Oxford University Press, 1977—$4.95)

Peter L. Skolnik's Fads: America's Crazes, Fevers & Fancies From the 1890s to the 1970s (New York: Crowell, 1978—$9.95)     

Essentialization of Social Categories Across Development in Two Cultures

Children display an “essentialist” bias in their everyday thinking about social categories. However, the degree and form of this bias varies with age and with the nature of the categories, as well as across cultures. This project investigated the development of the essentialist bias across five social categories (i.e., gender, nationality, religious affiliation, socioeconomic status (rich/poor), and sports-team supporter) in two countries. Children between 5 and 10 years of age in Turkey (Study 1, N = 74) and the United States (Study 2, N = 73), as well as adults in both countries (Study 3, N = 223), participated. Results indicate surprising cross-cultural parallels with respect to both the rank ordering of essentialist thinking across these five categories and increasing differentiation among them over development.     

Assessing pre-service teachers’ environmental literacy in Turkey as a mean to develop teacher education programs

The study investigates environmental literacy of pre-service teachers at one of the largest public universities in Turkey. The research evaluates the relationship of pre-service teachers’ environmental knowledge, attitude, and concerns of their interests in environmental problems, involving outdoor activities, parents’ interest and involvement in environmental activities. Canonical analysis is used to explore relationships between pre-service teachers’ environmental background and literacy. The results are promising and rewarding in addition to restructuring efforts of faculties of education in Turkey. Showing that environmental background of pre-service teachers is positively related to environmental literacy and attitudes along with other uses affected significantly by gender.     

Recall of Key Words as a Function of Bloom's Cognitive Level

Two experiments were designed to pursue the levels of processing analysis of Bloom's taxonomy of the cognitive domain proposed by Kunen, Cohen & Solman (1981). In the first experiment four groups of students processed 20 principles at the levels of knowledge, application, synthesis and evaluation respectively. The times required by students in the first two of these groups were significantly shorter than the times required by the last two groups, but in conrast to the Kunen et al. study, no mathematical problems were included to correct for these differences. The percentages of correctly recalled principle names showed the same pattern of differences as previously obtained by Kunen et al. for their Australian sample and it was concluded that the interpolated problems used by these authors had not interfered with performance. However, since the levels of performance did not differ for application and synthesis (although they were superior to the levels obtained for knowledge and evaluation), the results did not unambiguously indicate that synthesis should occupy the pinnacle of the hierarchy. It was suggested, therefore, that a precise ordering of the taxonomic levels required further investigation including all six categories. Also, observation of the questions used for the knowledge category, suggested that the recall scores obtained at this level were an underestimate of incidental memory, and, as a consequence, these questions were revised for use in Experiment 2. The results of Experiment 2 showed that the revised knowledge questions improved recall and the actual level of performance did not differ significantly from the levels obtained for comprehension, synthesis and evaluation. The percentage of recalled words obtained in the synthesis category was, however, observably superior to all other levels and this was consistent with the similar Kunen et al. finding. However, since the results of both of the present experiments failed to support a hierarchical arrangement of the taxonomic levels, it was suggested that the Kunen et al. results should be interpreted with caution.

     

Beginning Principals and the Issue of Gender in Rural and Regional Areas

The lived experiences of female beginning principals is an under‐researched area in the field of educational administration. Much of the research undertaken in this area is flawed due to the assumption that male experience is the norm from which generalizations are made appropriately for all beginning principals. Androcentric bias inherent in the literature denies the reality of the beginning woman principal and the experiences of sexism often encountered when taking office. This paper reports qualitative data arising from an interview study of a small group of beginning women principals in rural and regional areas of New South Wales, Australia. The data demonstrate not only that there are distinctive issues for female school leaders, but that the conservative rural and regional context in which they work probably intensifies these issues. The paper concludes with a recommendation for further research examining the experiences of female beginning principals in a variety of social and cultural locations.     

Assessment in an era of accessibility: Evaluating rules for scripting audio representation of test items

Standardized, large-scale assessment of educational outcomes has become a global phenomenon over the past three decades (Smith, 2016 ). A key challenge facing assessment designers is that standard formats may be inaccessible or may create barriers to student performance. Schwanke, Smith, and Edyburn's ( 2001 ) A3 model describes how advocates have reacted to structural barriers by providing accommodations and, ultimately, accessibility. This paper synthesizes and evaluates three studies that attempted to improve accessibility in assessments for students who struggle with print reading through audio presentation of assessment items. Cross-study implications for policy and practice are considered.