Culture Clashes,Value Conflicts and Professional Education

Radical changes have taken place in the conditions of professional practice in recent decades, which have been recorded and analysed by a number of authors, together with various proposals for the adaptation of courses of professional training. One area in this evolution which has received less than systematic investigation is the greatly increased occurrence of clashes arising from ethical complications in much professional practice, a major source of which has been the greatly increased intermingling of cultures worldwide. In the present paper it is argued that the training of professional practitioners in the understanding of value conflicts is different in nature from the training in the knowledge and techniques specific to a profession. The distinction is traced and a definition offered of the educational problem involved in preparing professional practitioners for handling such matters. The remainder of the paper is taken up with a review of several approaches that have been reported.     

Confronting the biases in connoisseur review and performance indicators in higher education: A structural modelling approach

Scholarly productivity and the research reputation of academic staff frequently dominate as criteria in the review of higher education courses, disciplines and institutions, a bias which represents a profound hazard for plausible evaluation. Three distinct outcome constructs were identified from analyses of performance indicator data gathered on the accounting discipline in Australia. They were the scholarly productivity of the academic staff involved, the quality of teaching and learning as perceived by students and graduates, and the academic efficiency, in terms of subject completion rates, with which the courses were conducted. Each outcome was shown to be related in a different manner to various characteristics of the courses investigated. The results challenge the orthodox view that scholarly productivity will lead naturally to other desired outcomes of higher education, question the usual surface level interpretation of performance indicators, and suggest that evaluation in higher education might combine connoisseur and performance indicator approaches within the framework of a realist epistemology, placing emphasis on the structures and mechanisms which generate the diverse and distinct outcomes of different courses.     

Cardiac Dimensions in Elite Young Track Athletes

The purpose of the study was to compare young sprint and distance runners for changes in their cardiac dimensions with increased age (10–17 years) or body surface area (1–2 m²). Echocardiographic dimensions were obtained on 73 male track athletes competing in the 1983 National Age Group Track and Field Association championships. Each group of athletes was also compared with a hypothetical normal population (matched for weight and age) generated from prediction equations derived by Henry, Gardin, & Ware (1980). The cardiac dimensions examined were: Left ventricular internal diameter, left ventricular posterior wall thickness, and interventricular septum thickness. The male distance runners (n = 38) had a significantly greater increase in left ventricular posterior wall thickness and interventricular septum thickness with increasing age or increasing body surface area compared to the sprinters (n = 35) or compared to the predicted normal population. The left ventricular internal diameter was not significantly different between the groups. These results indicate that the hearts of male distance runners are undergoing a training hypertrophy whereas the hearts of sprinters are no different than hearts in a normal population. The changes in cardiac dimensions of these young athletes run counter to the generalizations stated for adult athletes: That endurance training enlarges the left ventricular internal diameter, but does not increase the left ventricular posterior wall or interventricular septum thickness.     

Treatment Fidelity Challenges in a Five-State Consultation Study

Consultation is a promising approach to creating change in early childhood programs, from innovations in instructional strategies to the enhancement of global program quality. Studies of consultation effectiveness have been hampered by limited reports of implementation fidelity related to consultation procedures. This article describes the challenges of supporting and measuring implementation fidelity in a 5-state study in which community consultants followed a collaborative consultation model to enhance global quality in childcare programs. The authors consider the limitations of using a randomized experimental design to study the effectiveness of consultation and share lessons learned in their efforts to enhance treatment fidelity without compromising the basic tenets of the model or the rigorous design.     

Early Head Start Relationships: Association with Program Outcomes

Research Findings: Interpersonal relationships among staff caregivers, parents, and children have been recommended as essential aspects of early childhood intervention. This study explored the associations of these relationships with program outcomes for children and parents in 3 Early Head Start programs. A total of 71 children (8–35 months, M = 20), their parents, and 33 program caregivers participated. The results showed that caregiver–child relationships were moderately positive, secure, and interactive and improved in quality over 6 months, whereas caregiver–parent relationships were generally positive and temporally stable. Caregiver–child relationships were more positive for girls, younger children, and those in home-visiting programs. Caregiver–parent relationships were more positive when parents had higher education levels and when staff had more years of experience, had more positive work environments, or had attained a Child Development Associate credential or associate's level of education rather than a 4-year academic degree. Hierarchical linear modeling analysis suggested that the quality of the caregiver–parent relationship was a stronger predictor of both child and parent outcomes than was the quality of the caregiver–child relationship. There were also moderation effects: Stronger associations of caregiver–parent relationships with observed positive parenting were seen in parents with lower education levels and when program caregivers had higher levels of education. Practice or Policy: The results support the importance of caregiver–family relationships in early intervention programs and suggest that staff need to be prepared to build relationships with children and families in individualized ways. Limitations of this study and implications for program improvements and future research are discussed.     

An Expert System Helps Students Learn Database Design

Teaching and learning database design is difficult for both instructors and students. Students need to solve many problems with feedback and corrections. A Web‐based specialized expert system was created to enable students to create designs online and receive immediate feedback. An experiment testing the system shows that it significantly enhances student learning. The system also provides a more neutral learning environment in terms of personal factors such as gender and prior class work.