‘Getting the pieces together’: negotiating the transition from pre-service to in-service teacher

For beginning teachers to make the transition to full professional membership they need to increase their professional knowledge of the art and science of teaching. This paper explores the difference in knowledge growth between beginning teachers who commence teaching in fragmented teaching situations in the first two years of teaching, and their colleagues who have stable, secure and continuing employment during this time. This paper argues that the employment context in which beginning teachers take up their profession has a significant, but hitherto largely unacknowledged, effect on the capacity of teachers to develop the craft of teaching (Elbaz, 1983 Elbaz, F. 1983. Teacher thinking: A study of practical knowledge, London: Croom Helm.  [Google Scholar]); on their continuing commitment to the profession; and on their self-confidence and self-image as teachers It is concluded that long-term, secure employment in one school, with full responsibility for a class of students and access to effective mentoring, is necessary if beginning teachers are to move beyond ‘survival’ to developing competency in the first two years of teaching.     

The provision of higher education in regional areas: an integrative review of the literature

There is a great deal of literature surrounding the needs of regional Australia. This integrative review of the literature focuses on the experience of nursing academics teaching on a satellite campus, many of which are located in regional Australia. Four themes were identified: (1) challenges specific to regional satellite campuses, (2) student characteristics, (3) student experiences and (4) the academics’ experiences. These themes identified not only significant benefits but also considerable challenges to the provision of higher education on regional university campuses. The experience of nursing academics and indeed their students is remarkably different from the experience of their metropolitan counterparts, and therefore the local context needs to be considered in regional education provision. Australian regional nursing academics need to be multi-skilled to address the workload and social inequity in support service provision.     

A 12-week Interdisciplinary Intervention Program for Children who are Obese

Childhood obesity is a growing problem, for which multi-disciplinary interventions are needed. Purpose: This interdisciplinary intervention program was designed to improve the health of children who were obese. Methods: Twenty-five children, mean age 8.1 (1.5) years; body mass index (BMI)> 98^th percentile, and their parents completed the 12-week (3 days/wk) intervention consisting of aerobic and resistance exercise appropriate to age and developmental levels. Baseline and posttest measures of blood values, fitness, and cardiovascular risk factors were performed. Data were analyzed using paired t-tests with significance accepted at P ≤ .05. Results: Significant differences between means (SD) for pre- and post-measurements were, respectively: BMI 30.31 (4.56), 27.80 (4.54), body-fat percent 43.7 (11.5), 40.7 (10.9), waist circumference 82.1 (7.1), 80.4(6.1) cm, calf circumference 34.2 (3.1), 35.2 (3.1) cm; step-test heart rate 137 (20), 126 (12) bpm, push-ups 1.0 (1.8), 5.6 (3.8), sit-ups 23.6 (12.7), 33.2 (13.8), sit-and-reach 35.1 (7.4), 41.2 (5.8) cm; systolic BP 102 (10), 108 (9) mmHg, glucose 4.9(0.3), 4.8 (0.4) mmol/L, total cholesterol 4.6 (1.0), 4.2 (0.8) mmol/L, ALT 41 (9), 35 (8) U/L, bilirubin 6.3 (2.4), 5.6 (2.1) μmol/L, and BUN 4.9 (1.1), 4.3 (0.9) mmol/L. Conclusions: This interdisciplinary intervention program positively affected the fitness and health status of children who were obese by involving the children and parents.Key Words: childhood obesity, cardiovascular risk factors, health, fitness     

“Divven't Write That,Man”: the influence of Tyneside dialect forms on children's free writing

The issue of the use of Standard English in writing, and the influence of non‐standard dialects on pupils’ ability to write in Standard English, has gained renewed prominence with the publication of a number of reports leading up to the advent of the National Curriculum in English. This article analyses the free writing of a group of 11 year‐olds in an inner‐city school in Newcastle upon Tyne in terms of the extent to which it conforms to Standard English writing conventions. The influence of non‐standard dialect on performance in writing has been found to be relatively minor; many of the children plainly do have difficulties, but they are more frequently related to difficulties in mastering aspects of the writing system itself than to bi‐dialectalism.     

Editorials

A Handbook of Public Speaking (Revised Edition). By John Dolman, Jr. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1934; pp. vii, 165; $1.

Legal Reasoning and Briefing. By Jesse Franklin Brumbaugh. Indianapolis: The Bobbs Merrill Co., 1917; pp. xvi, 775; $5.

Legal and Public Speaking. By Jesse Franklin Brumbaugh. Indianapolis: The Bobbs Merrill Co., 1932; pp. xiii, 1049; $5.

Winning Orations of the Interstate Oratorical Association, 1933 Edited by I. M. Cochran. New York: Noble &; Noble, 1933; pp. 66; $1.

Modern Short Stories for Oral Interpretation. Edited by M. Pearl Lloyd and John Tryon Marshman. Boston: The Expression Company, 1933; pp. viii, 306.

Some Exercises in the Sounds of Speech. By C. C. Bell. Cambridge: at The University Press; New York: The Macmillan Company; 1933; pp. viii + 94; $1.25.

The Theatre on the Frontier. By William G. B. Carson. Chicago: the University of Chicago Press, 1932; pp. 361; $5.

The Year Book of College Oratory. Vol. V, 1933. Edited by Evan E. Anderson, New York: Noble &; Noble, 1933; pp. 364; $2.

Poet's Gold. By David Ross. New York: The Macaulay Co., 1933; pp. 288; $2.

Intercollegiate Debates, Vol. XIV, Edited by Egbert Ray Nichols. New York: Noble &; Noble, 1933; pp. 529; $2.

Habits: Their Making and Unmaking. By Knight Dunlap. New York: Liveright, Inc.; 1932; pp. 326.

Psychology Applied. By George W. Crane. Chicago: Northwestern University Press, 1932; pp. 586; $4.     

Is Inclusion an Illusion? An Examination of National and State Trends Toward the Education of Students with Learning Disabilities in General Education Classrooms

The inclusion of students with learning disabilities (LD) remains one of the more controversial issues in special education. Although research evidence seems to reveal that students with LD should spend most of the school day in the general education classroom, little data are available regarding the extent to which states are moving toward educating these students in less restrictive settings. This investigation was conducted to examine national and state data related to changes that occurred during the 1990s in educating students with LD in less restrictive settings. The results revealed that little change occurred across the United States as a whole, and that only 15 states moved toward educating students with LD in less restrictive settings during this time. The findings of this investigation further revealed that much of the apparent movement toward educating students with LD in general education classrooms is largely an illusion, explained primarily by the increasing identification rate for students with LD. The implications of these findings for future research and practice are discussed.