Action Research and Policy

This article examines the relationship between action research and policy and the kind of confidence teachers, policy makers and other potential users may have in such research. Many published teacher action research accounts are criticised on the grounds that they do not fully meet the conventional standards for reporting social scientific research, and by implication are held to be less trustworthy. Action research is nevertheless often seen by some academics and policy makers as a potential method for developing theory, disseminating good practice, or raising standards. Through a discussion of three major approaches to action research—seen variously as professional learning, practical philosophy and critical social science—it is argued that judgements about confidence depend upon understanding the various kinds of knowledge claim that can be made by action researchers, and appropriate judgements concerning the strength of evidence or reasons.     

A song of colours

What is pink?A rose is pink By the mountain‘s brink.What is blue?The sky is blue Where the clouds float through.What is white?A swan is white Sailing in the light.What is yellow?     

Joke

教师:你为什么不回答,汤姆?我的问题把你难住了吗?汤姆:哦,不,老师。我完全理解你的问题。把我难住了的是答案。     

Wellness as the Paradigm for Counseling and Development: The Possible Future

Wellness refers to the maximizing of human potential through positive life-style choices. This holistic paradigm offers a philosophical base for counseling and development that provides guidelines for intervention and at the same time emphasizes the uniqueness of our approach as counseling and development professionals to mental health concerns. The author advocates a wellness paradigm rather than the illness-oriented medical model as being most reflective of our profession.     

On-Campus Clinical Training in Counselor Education

Experiential training in on-campus clinics is an important component of professional preparation for both counselors and psychologists. Similarities between counseling and psychology training clinics are explored and implications for counselor education discussed.     

Self-representations of International Women Postgraduate Students in the Global University 'Contact Zone'

This article explores some aspects of the role of race and gender in shaping women postgraduate students' experience of intercultural study. It focuses on various social and cultural aspects of their sojourn. These were suggested by data from two small pilot research projects investigating the experiences of two cohorts of international women postgraduate students, the one studying in an Australian university and the other, a Canadian. The authors focus particularly on the intersections between the students' representation of themselves as women and the way they see themselves represented by their host cultures. In other words, they are interested in the students' understandings of themselves as 'other', and how this impacts on their representations of 'self'. The authors suggest that these representations reflect a process of negotiation of identity that occurs in what they call the globalising university 'contact zone'. The concept of contact zones derives from post-colonial theory. A further goal of this article, then, is to examine how such data appear when viewed from a post-colonial perspective.