Experienced teachers' knowledge of teaching and learning of models and modelling in science education

This article reports a study of the knowledge of experienced science teachers in the context of a reform in science education in The Netherlands. The study focused on a major goal of the reform, that is, improving students' knowledge and abilities in the field of models and modelling in science. First, seven teachers of biology and chemistry were interviewed about the teaching and learning of models and modelling in science. Next, a questionnaire was designed consisting of 30 items on a Likert-type scale. This questionnaire was completed by a group ( n = 74) of teachers of biology, chemistry and physics. Results indicated that the teachers could be grouped in two subgroups, who differed in terms of their self-reported use of teaching activities focusing on models: one sub-group applied such activities substantially more often than the other sub-group. This distinction appeared not to be related to the teachers' subject, or teaching experience. Moreover, the use of teaching activities seemed only loosely related to the teachers' knowledge of their students, particularly, students' views of models and modelling abilities. Implications for the design of teacher education are discussed.     

Community development as citizen education

Everyday professional discussion often refers to the idea that community development is essentially a learning process. This article sketches a comprehensive theory of community development as citizen education by following the different traditions in community development and by defining the educational aspect of each tradition. Among the traditions described here are traditional community organizations as a social work method, the radical community organization of Alinsky, the neo‐Marxist approach of community action, and the settlement movement. The resulting theoretical framework defines community development as an alternative route for the education of citizens with low levels of formal education in the same way as labour unions and churches often are alternative routes towards active citizenship for low‐income groups. Next, three forms of education are singled out within community development: first, education as training of local leadership; as an action‐oriented and on the job learning process supported informally by the community worker. This form of education resembles the informal vocational education in which an experienced craftsman trains his pupils on the shop floor. Second, education as consciousness raising, which reverses the sequence of learning processes: in this case it is not action which leads to education but education that hopefully leads to action by citizens. There is a whole range of providers of such consciousness raising activities, such as community development organizations, local centres for adult education, churches through their celebrations and adult education classes. A recent development is the ‘new localism’ in social movements, such as the environmental movement, emphasizing consciousness‐raising activities in the local community. Third, education as service delivery: here education is a service for the community in the same way as community development can deliver other services to a community such as affordable housing and health centres. Partly these educational services are ‘survival education’, such as job readiness training programmes and literacy programmes; partly they are ‘leisure education’, typically blurring the borders between ‘pure’ education and recreational and social opportunities for residents.     

Seeing classes: toward a broadened research agenda for critical qualitative researchers

This paper proposes a research agenda that foregrounds social class in US public schooling. The author suggests that the relative invisibility of social class in academic discourse on schooling limits the value of research in at least three ways: (1) middle‐class academics’ propensity to speak on behalf of the poor and working class limits analysis of class and schooling; (2) the class and gender constraints on the work of teachers has been inadequately theorized, while simultaneously the work of teachers ha been invoked as proxy for deeper social and structural inequalities; and (3) researchers have declined to ‘study up’ power structures within which the work of schools is embedded, limiting our understanding of relationships between schooling and the economy. It is suggested that researchers’ work will make deeper contributions to the reform of schools to the extent that they acknowledge how norms of scholarship sustain their own middle‐class privilege.     

MEMORY TRAINING IN THE COMMUNITY: EVALUATIONS BY PARTICIPANTS AND EFFECTS ON METAMEMORY

This study examined 129 participants in seven types of memory training programs in Belgium. It was found that more than half of the subjects participated because they felt their memory was deteriorating or because they were afraid of memory deterioration. After completion of the program, subjects rated the training as being somewhat too short, as useful for their daily lives, as very pleasant, and as being of adequate difficulty. Almost all subjects indicated they would like to take part in a follow‐up training program. Forty‐one percent of the subjects indicated increased memory awareness as the main effect; other effects often cited included the discovery that subjects were not the only ones with complaints, increased knowledge of memory functioning, and the possibility for self‐development. However, no pre‐to‐posttraining effect could be found on scales of the Memory Functioning Questionnaire, except for a small (but significant) increase in self‐reported frequency of forgetting.     

Innovation and product qualification in apple production in Belgium

Abstract

Consumer concerns about food safety have been steadily growing during the last decade. Along with the recognition of the increasing power from the consumer side of food chains, this has forced agricultural producers to innovate and adapt their production methods. One of those innovations is integrated fruit production (IFP) aiming at providing consumers with specific quality products. The focus in this paper is on the establishment and impact of socio-technical networks that close existing gaps between the consumers' world and the one of producers. Specific attention is paid to the role of extension services and product champions as mediators. The theoretical framework comprises elements of the actor-network theory and economic conventions theory. It is shown that the interaction between the consumers' world and the producers' world results from a mediated interactive process that clearly influences the socially constructed technology. Relevant input from consumers, as well as adequate policy measures are urgently needed in order to realise a successful development of quality networks for fresh food.     

Development of children with autism spectrum disorders in special needs education schools in the Netherlands: a three-year follow-up study

The purpose of the study was to investigate the development of symptomatology and academic growth of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) attending a special needs education school in the Netherlands as well as to explore the relationship between academic achievement and symptom reduction of those children. To this end a three-year follow up study was conducted by using multiple informants. The group of children with autism was compared with a group of children having other diagnoses but attending the same school. Results showed that teachers’ and parents’ perceptions about children’s symptomatology development differed significantly. Even though teachers reported a significant symptom reduction of ASD symptoms after two years of school attendance the parents of the same children did not. Furthermore, it was found that both groups of children had gains in different aspects of school-based cognitive skills; however, no association was found between symptom reduction and academic growth of the children. Implications of the study are discussed.     

What is on our children’s minds? An analysis of children’s writings as reflections of group‐specific socialisation practices

In the present study it has been examined how children’s creative writing tasks may contribute to teachers’ understanding of children’s values. Writings of 300 elementary school children about what they would do if they were the boss of The Netherlands were obtained and seemed to reflect different types of values. Most children were concerned with charity. Also, writings concerned materialist values and socio‐political topics, such as human rights, power and tolerance. Analyses of group‐specific differences showed girls to write more about charity and health when compared to boys. Children from low socio‐economic backgrounds wrote less about environmental issues compared to children from middle and high socio‐economic backgrounds. Children from ethnic minority backgrounds who wrote more about obtaining goods for themselves and less about environmental issues than Dutch‐origin children. In addition, age differences were found in line with an increase in social and moral development. These differences are discussed in light of differential socialisation practices.