History of education in Brazil: the construction of a knowledge field

This article analyses the general characteristics of the construction of the field of history of education in Brazil. To do so, it highlights the existing historiography and aims to describe the process of institutionalisation of this knowledge field, which, in general terms, has been focused on the area of teacher training. Since the nineteenth century, however, it has also been possible to identify systematic historiographical efforts in Brazil that are not directly related to the school system, but rather to the teaching of and research into the history of education within Brazilian universities. The article addresses the organisation of the field, the ways in which it has been structured and the strategies of academic legitimisation employed to achieve this. These include the regular production of dissertations and doctoral theses, the publication of books and journals, academic events and the creation of research groups and scientific associations, through which research findings have found national and international circulation. This set of indicators creates conditions for an understanding of the expansion and reconfiguration of the field of history of education that began in the 1980s, as well as of the challenges this phenomenon presents to current historiography and teacher training in Brazil.     

Influences of developmental contexts and gender differences on school performance of children and adolescents

This study investigated children and adolescents’ school performance over time focusing on two variables that may influence it: developmental context and gender. The sample comprised 627 participants (M_age?=?11.13, SD?=?1.8), 51% of them female, from grade one to eight, living either with family (n?=?474) or in care institutions (n?=?153). Participants answered individually the Teste de Desempenho Escolar (School Performance Test) and the Structured PRONEX Interview. Findings indicated a main effect of time on school performance (i.e., writing, reading and arithmetic). Furthermore this main effect was further qualified by a time and developmental context interaction and by a time and gender interaction. Interactions revealed that the participants from care institutions attained more significant increases in writing and reading than participants living within a family context; and that girls attained more significant increases in writing than boys. Therefore, school performance progress appears as affected by developmental contexts and gender. The findings reveal how school performance needs to be observed as a multidimensional variable, affected by individual characteristics but also by external ones.     

Motion pictures

THE FILMS OF MICHELANGELO ANTONIONI by Peter Brunette (New York: Cambridge University Press “Cambridge Film Classics,”; 1998—$49.95/paper price not given, ISBN 0–521–38085–5 hard, 0–521–38992–5 paper, 186 pp., selected bibliography, filmography, notes, photos, index)

BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN: NEW ESSAYS ON THE WESTERN edited by Edward Buscombe and Roberta E. Pearson (London: British Film Institute, 1998—$60.00/22.50, ISBN 0–85170–660–6 hard, 0–85170–661–4 paper, 218 pp., chapter notes, photos, color advertising plates, index)

REPRESENTING THE WOMAN: CINEMA AND PSYCHOANALYSIS by Elizabeth Cowie (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1997—$18.95 paper, ISBN 0–8166–2913–7 hard, 0–8166–2913–7 paper, 397 pp., chapter notes, photos, index)

TRACKING KING KONG: A HOLLYWOOD ICON IN WORLD CULTURE by Cynthia Erb (Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press “Contemporary Film and Television Series,”; 1998—$24.95, paper, ISBN 0–8143–2686–2, 238 pp., bibliography, chapter notes, index)

IMAGES OF THE PASSION: THE SACRAMENTAL MODE IN FILM by Peter Fraser (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1998—$65.00/22.95, ISBN 0–275–96464–7 hard, 0–275–96465–5 paper, 201 pp., bibliography, filmography, chapter notes, photos, index)

DOCUMENTING THE DOCUMENTARY: CLOSE READINGS OF DOCUMENTARY FILM AND VIDEO edited by Barry Keith Grant and Jeannette Sloniowski (Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press, 1998—$27.50, paper, ISBN 0–8143–2639–0, 488 pp., film and video distributors’ address list, chapter notes, general bibliography, index)

HOLLYWOOD RENAISSANCE: THE CINEMA OF DEMOCRACY IN THE ERA OF FORD, CAPRA, AND KAZAN by Sam B. Girgus (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998—$59.95/paper price not given, ISBN 0–521–62388‐X hard, 0–521–62552–1 paper, 258 pp., index, chapter notes, filmography, B&W photos)

IN THE COMPANY OF WOMEN: CONTEMPORARY FEMALE FRIENDSHIP FILMS by Karen Hollinger (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1998—$47.95/18.95, ISBN 0–8166–3177–8 hard, 0–8166–3178–6 paper, 275 pp., chapter notes, photos, index)

INDIGENOUS AESTHETICS: NATIVE ART MEDIA AND IDENTITY by Steven Leuthold (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1998—$35.00/16.95, ISBN 0–292–74702–0 hard, 0–292–74703–9 paper, 238 pp., bibliography, filmography, photos, index)

PASSPORT TO HOLLYWOOD: HOLLYWOOD FILMS, EUROPEAN DIRECTORS by James Morrison (Albany: State University of New York Press “SUNY Series in Postmodern Culture,”; 1998—$65.00/21.95, ISBN 0–7914–3937–2 hard, 0–7914–3938–0 paper, 310 pp., bibliography, chapter notes, photos, index)

EDISON MOTION PICTURES, 1890–1900: AN ANNOTATED FILMOGRAPHY by Charles Musser (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1998—$75.00, ISBN 1–56098–567–4, 720 pp., illustrations, bibliography, indexes for film titles, personal and corporate names, subjects, and locations)

THE FILMS OF JOHN FRANKENHEIMER: FORTY YEARS IN FILM: JOHN FRANKENHEIMER TALKS ABOUT HIS LIFE IN THE CINEMA TO GERALD PRATLEY by Gerald Pratley (Bethlehem, PA: Lehigh University Press, 1998—$55.00, ISBN 1–900541–40–8, 294 pp., photos, film credits, index)

SAVAGE CINEMA: SAM PECKINPAH AND THE RISE OF ULTRAVIOLENT MOVIES by Stephen Prince (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1998— $35.00/18.95, ISBN 0–292–76581–9 hard, 0–292–76582–7 paper, 282 pp., bibliography, chapter notes, photos, index)

FOR THE LOVE OF PLEASURE: WOMEN, MOVIES, AND CULTURE IN THE TURN‐OF‐THE‐CENTURY CHICAGO by Lauren Rabinovitz (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1998—$49.00/19.00, ISBN 0–8135–2533–0 hard, 0–8135–2534–9 paper, 233 pp., film index, bibliography, chapter notes, photos, index)

REALITY TRANSFORMED: FILM AS MEANING AND TECHNIQUE by Irving Singer (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1998—$25.00, ISBN 0–262–19403–1, 216 pp., notes, photos, index)

THE NEW HISTORICAL DICTIONARY OF THE AMERICAN FILM INDUSTRY by Anthony Slide (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 1998—$55.00, ISBN 0–8108–3426‐X, 267 pp., resource libraries and institutions addresses, index)

FRAMING LATIN AMERICAN CINEMA: CONTEMPORARY CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES edited by Ann Marie Stock (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press “Hispanic Issues, Vol. 15,”; 1997—$47.95/18.95, ISBN 0–8166–2972–2 hard, 0–8166–2973–0 paper, 269 pp., chapter notes, photos, index)

MODES OF REPRESENTATION IN SPANISH CINEMA edited by Jenaro Talens and Santos Zunzunegui (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press “Hispanic Issues, Vol. 16,”; 1998—$54.95/21.95, ISBN 0–8166–2974–9 hard, 0–8166–2975–7 paper, 346 pp., chapter notes, index)

WORKING GIRLS: GENDER AND SEXUALITY IN POPULAR CINEMA by Yvonne Tasker (New York: Routledge, 1998—hardcover price not given/$19.99, ISBN 0–415–14004–8 hard, 0–415–14005–6 paper, 234 pp., bibliography, chapter notes, filmography, photos, index)

THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF NOVELS INTO FILM edited by John C. Tibbetts and James M. Welsh (New York: Facts on File, 1998—$48.00, ISBN 0–8160–3317‐X, 522 pp., filmographies, references, appendices including biographical sketches of authors, selected bibliography, index)

GUIDE TO AMERICAN CINEMA, 1930–1965 by Thomas R. Whissen (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press “Reference Guides to the World's Cinema,”; 1998—$79.50, ISBN 0–313–29487–9, 389 pp., appendixes, bibliography, index)

ALLEGORIES OF UNDERDEVELOPMENT: AESTHETICS AND POLITICS IN MODERN BRAZILIAN CINEMA by Ismail Xavier (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1997—$54.95/21.95, ISBN 0–8166–2676–6 hard, 0–8166–2677–4 paper, 285 pp., chapter notes, photos, index)     

The Relation Between Media Content Evaluations and Political Disaffection

A probability sample of 592 Washington state voters during the month prior to the 1996presidential election was used to assess registered voters 'levels of involvement, confidence in the media's representations of reality, and political disaffection. Perceptions of incompleteness were associated with amplified feelings of cynicism. Perceptions of oversimplification were associated with increased negativism but were also associated with increased involvement. The results suggest that perceptions of oversimplification in the news contribute less to public disaffection than perceptions of unrepresentativeness. We argue that some skepticism of the news should be considered healthy rather than worrisome.     

Who talks how to their kids about TV: A clarification of demographic correlates of parental mediation patterns

A random telephone survey (N = 255) of Washington state parents of children between the ages of 2 and 17 assesses parents’ reported patterns of interaction with their children regarding television, along with parental viewing habits and perceptions of television content. Demographic differences in mediation and coviewing patterns, as well as parental attitudes toward television, are explored, and explanations for these differences are considered. It is concluded that education is a weak predictor of mediation levels, single parents do not differ from dual parents in attitudes about television, and that the negative relationship of income to positive mediation and use of television as a babysitter is related more to overall viewing patterns and environmental constraints, rather than to attitudinal differences. It is suggested that demographics hold little value jar explaining why and how parents hold particular attitudes or engage in particular behaviors relevant to television and parenting.     

To Hope or to Know: Coping with Uncertainty and Ambivalence in Women's Magazine Breast Cancer Articles

Breast cancer is one of the most feared diseases in contemporary Western society. Popular women's magazines are important sources of information about and orientation to the disease. The current study applies problematic integration theory in an interpretive analysis of all breast cancer articles appearing in five top-circulating women's magazines between 1997 and 2002. In so doing, the study illuminates two major challenges (uncertainty and ambivalence) and several imperfect approaches to coping constructed in this discourse (simplification, information-seeking/provision, affect management, trusting intuition, sustaining hope, and metaphoric reframing). These results have several clear and important practical implications and highlight a major and largely untried direction for future research.     

Scientific Reasoning,School Achievement and Gender: a Multilevel Study of between and within School Effects in Finland

The relationships between reasoning and school achievement were studied taking into account the multilevel nature (school- and class-levels) of the data. We gathered data from 51 classes at seven schools in metropolitan and Eastern Finland (N = 769, 395 males, 15-year-old students). To study scientific reasoning, we used a modified version of Science Reasoning Tasks, tapping control-of-variable schemata. Analyses were conducted by MLwiN2.10 multilevel modelling. The present results showed that the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) of schools for scientific reasoning is 7% and that the corresponding ICC of classes is 10%. Whereas the first finding confirms earlier PISA results, the second finding provides new insights into class variation within schools. In practice, class composition seems to be an efficient solution to meeting the differing needs of individual students.     

ICT Policy and Implementation in Education: cases in Canada,Northern Ireland and Ireland

Countries with similar levels of economic development often implement different education ICT policies. Much of the existing research attributes such differences to economic and political factors. In this paper, we examine the development of ICT policy and implementation in the two parts of Ireland and in two Canadian provinces and find that historical, social and cultural differences also play an important role in the way ICT policies develop. In particular, we see differing historical perceptions of the role of the state and church in education playing a more important role than has hitherto been recognized.