South Africa’s readiness to integrate ICT into mathematics and science pedagogy in secondary schools

One of South Africa’s identified priorities is the implementation of ICT in education. To this end a phased implementation plan was initiated in 2004 for ICT to be implemented into schools across the country over eight years. During this time South Africa also participated in three international studies undertaken by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) focusing on ICT in Education. Each of these permitted the country to benchmark its progress in terms of other countries and their implementation of ICT in education. The latest study, SITES 2006 provides a useful set of indicators against which South Africa can evaluate its progress with regard to its implementation of ICT. This paper seeks to evaluate South Africa’s readiness to integrate ICT into mathematics and science classrooms. This was done using a number of indicators of “sustainable change” derived from SITES 2006 and then comparing these to countries such as Chile, Thailand and Norway, the former two with similar context and conditions and the latter with contrasting conditions. The findings reveal that whilst South Africa has made some progress since 1998 in terms of the implementation of ICT in education, that the majority of schools are still in their infancy regarding the acquisition of ICT and most of those who have access are still in the process of trying to integrate the ICT into their teaching and learning. It would appear that more fundamental needs in South Africa’s education system have dominated its priorities.     

Does Dampened Physiological Reactivity Protect Youth in Aggressive Family Environments?

Is an attenuated physiological response to family conflict, seen in some youth exposed to early adversity, protective or problematic? A longitudinal study including 54 youth (average age 15.2 years) found that those with higher cumulative family aggression exposure showed lower cortisol output during a laboratory‐based conflict discussion with their parents, and were less likely to show the normative pattern of increased cortisol reactivity to a discussion they rated as more conflictual. Family aggression interacted with cortisol reactivity in predicting youth adjustment: Adolescents from more aggressive homes who were also more reactive to the discussion reported more posttraumatic stress symptoms and more antisocial behavior. These results suggest that attenuated reactivity may protect youth from the negative consequences associated with aggressive family environments.     

Book reviews

Zwartjes, Otto, ed. La Sociedad andalusí y sus tradiciones literarias (Foro Hispánico, 7). Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1994.

Brincat, Joseph M. Malta 870–1054: Al‐Himyai's Account and its Linguistic Implications. Malta: Said International Ltd., 1995. 52pp.

Sells, Michael A. Mystical Languages of Unsaying. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1994. 316 pp., US$18.95 (paperback), US$49.91 (cloth).

Diem, Werner, Arabische Geschäftsbriefe des 10. bis 14. Jahrhunderts aus der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek in Wien (Documents Arabica Antiqua 1), 2 vols. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1995. Textband ix+518pp., Tafelband 76 plates.

Coope, Jessica A. The Martyrs of Cordoba: Community and Family Conflict in an Age of Mass Conversion. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1995. xvii+113 pp., US$ 25 (cloth).

Edwards, John. Religion and Society in Spain, c.1492 (Variorum Collected Studies Series: CS 520). Aldershot and Brookfield: Variorum, 1996. x+351 pp., US$ 97.00 (cloth).

Tolan, John Victor, ed. Medìeval Christian Perceptions of Islam. A Book of Essays (Garland Medieval Casebooks, Volume 10). New York and London: Garland Publishing, 1996. xxi+414 pp., US$60.00 (cloth).     

Authoritarianism, perceived threat and exclusionism on the eve of the Disengagement: Evidence from Gaza

Major political events such as terrorist attacks and forced relocation of citizens may have an immediate effect on attitudes towards ethnic minorities associated with these events. The psychological process that leads to political exclusionism of minority groups was examined using a field study among Israeli settlers in Gaza days prior to the Disengagement Plan adopted by the Israeli government on June 6, 2004 and enacted in August 2005. Lending credence to integrated threat theory and to theory on authoritarianism, our analyses show that the positive effect of religiosity on political exclusionism results from the two-staged mediation of authoritarianism and perceived threat. We conclude that religiosity fosters authoritarianism, which in turn tends to move people towards exclusionism both directly and through the mediation of perceived threat.     

Assessing Self- and Peer-assessment: The students' views

Self- and peer-assessment are being used increasingly in higher education, to help assign grades to students' work and to help students to learn more effectively. However, in spite of this trend there is little in the published literature on how students view these methods. In this paper we present an analysis of the views of a large number of students (N = 233) who had just experienced self- and peer-feedback as part of one of their subjects. It is a rarely questioned commonplace in the literature that in order to gain benefit from peer and self-assessment schemes students first need training in the specific scheme being used; ideally they will play a role in devising the scheme. The intervention reported here, which involved a large (N = 233) group of students, included no such measures. The results show that students felt, nonetheless, that they benefited from the intervention. The results also present prima facie evidence that training or other measures to further involve the students in the peer and self-assessment scheme might be beneficial. Our analysis of students' views revealed eight general dimensions under which are grouped twenty higher order themes. The results both support and extend previous research and give a more detailed picture than previously available. The general dimensions found were: Difficult; Gained Better Understanding of Marking; Discomfort; Productive (including learning benefits and improved work); Problems with Implementation; Read Others' Work; Develop Empathy (with assessing staff); and, Motivation (especially motivation to impress peers). The practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Giftedness as Developing Expertise: A theory of the interface between high abilities and achieved excellence

This article describes how giftedness can be viewed as developing expertise. The general conception of giftedness as developing expertise is outlined. Then research examples are given that, in conjunction, seem odd under traditional interpretations of abilities but that make sense as a whole in the context of the developing expertise model. It is concluded that this new model offers potential for better understanding the nature of giftedness.