Conservation aspects of the concept of time in primary school children

Sixty-two second-, fourth-, and sixth-graders were asked to judge the temporal duration of objects and events when the objects were changed in height or subjected to decay, when an event was reversed, and when an event was given an affective dimension. Nonconservers of time were those who judged that these irrelevant transformations affected the temporal aspects of the objects or events. The shift from nonconservation to conservation of time occurred between the second and fourth grades for most problems. The results indicated that young (under eight or nine years) children's concept of time is surprisingly defective. The relation of these findings to other conservation concepts was discussed.     

The Relationship Between Development Maturity and Attitude to School Science: an exploratory study

This longitudinal study was in the main concerned with the relationship between developmental maturity (in the physiological sense) and attitude to school science, among a group of secondry school children. The sample consisted of 269 boys and girls in a midland secondary school. They were administered a non‐verbal intelligence test, a Piagetian conceptual development test, and an attitude to school science scale, in the first and second years. In the fifth year they were again administered the attitude to school science scale. On the basis of the onset of menstruation, the girls were divided into early, normal and late developers.

The results showed that between the second and fifth years, attitudes to school science became more negative‐‐this applied to both boys and girls, but it was more marked in the case of the girls. It was also found that in the first and second years of the study, early maturing girls showed significantly more negative attitudes to school science, but that by the fifth year, early and late maturing girls were showing equally negative attitudes to this subject. Although the normal developers shared in the general decline in attitudes between the second and fifth years, their reactions to school science were less unfavourable throughout. The implications of these findings are discussed at length within the framework of current reserch and theory in this area.     

Gendered experiences of inclusive education for children with disabilities in West and East Africa

Background. Education is a fundamental human right, yet many children with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries remain deprived of educational opportunities. The movement towards quality inclusive education (IE) aims to support all children at school. Although gender and disability are key factors influencing IE, limited research explores their combined influence. Purpose. This study explored the gendered experiences of IE for children with disabilities in West and East Africa. Methods. A qualitative interpretive secondary analysis was conducted on studies from Guinea, Sierra Leone, Togo, Niger, Zambia, and Malawi. Interviews with children, community members, and policy stakeholders were thematically analysed to explore intersections among gender, disability, and education. Findings. Boys and girls with disabilities experienced similar cases of social exclusion at school. However, girls with disabilities were further hindered by societal biases against their educational potential and by sexual abuse. While boys with disabilities were stereotyped as more capable, their experiences of emotional and physical violence were often overlooked. Implications. To achieve quality IE for all, strategies should aim to foster inclusive and safe school environments for all children, empower girls with disabilities to pursue education, and challenge gendered societal attitudes that hinder educational opportunities.     

II Ontario and its universities

“Ontario and its Universities” embodies the views, on several central issues in higher education in Ontario, of members of a seminar which met regularly in the autumn of 1973 and early winter of 1974. The seminar was initiated by a group of professors from the University of Toronto and York University. They invited a number of their academic colleagues and several interested and informed persons from the wider public to discuss with them the responsibilities and essential requirements of the contemporary university in Ontario.     

Discipline in South Australian Primary Schools

Teachers’ views on discipline in primary schools in metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia, were investigated using a survey instrument developed for the Elton Enquiry into school discipline in England and Wales. Results of the survey suggest that primary and junior primary teachers experience frequent but minor discipline problems in their classes and in the school yard, but that they cope with these problems reasonably well. Data are presented summarising and comparing primary and junior primary teachers’ most common discipline problems, which are the most difficult to handle, teachers’ perceptions of the seriousness of these problems, and their suggestions to improve their capacity to deal with these problems. Differences between public and teacher perceptions of discipline problems in government primary schools are exposed. The implications of several findings for teacher training and development are briefly discussed.     

Individual and Developmental Differences in Disengagement of Fixation in Early Infancy

The current study investigated whether individual and developmental differences in look duration are correlated with the latency for infants to disengage fixation from a visual stimulus. Ninety-four infants (52 3-month-olds, 42 4-month-olds) were tested in a procedure that measured ocular reaction time to shift fixation from a central target to a peripheral target under conditions in which the central-target either remained present ("competition" condition) or was removed from the display ("noncompetition" condition). Look duration was correlated with disengagement latency; longer-looking infants were slower than shorter-looking infants to shift fixation to the peripheral target on competition trials, but not noncompetition trials. Results were similar for 3- and 4-month-olds, although 3-month-olds showed slower latencies on all trials. Furthermore, long-looking infants were not consistently slower, but rather showed greater variability in their response latencies under conditions that required disengagement of fixation. The results support the position that developmental and individual differences in look duration are linked to the development of the neural attentional systems that control the ability to disengage, or inhibit, visual fixation.     

希望天使

Ammie Reddick from East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, was only 18 months old when she had the accident that has scarred her for life. While her mother's back was turned for a moment, the inquisitive toddler reached up to grab the flex of a hot kettle4 in the family kitchen and poured boiling water over her tiny infant frame.Her mother Ruby spun round and, seeing Ammie horribly scalded, called an ambulance which rushed her daughter to a nearby hospital. Twenty percent of Ammie's body had     

The career plans of women

The impact of environmental forces and the interaction of occupational and family roles on career plans were explored in interviews with female vocational clients. Twenty unemployed women in career transitions were interviewed over a three-year period. The women were asked about their career plans at age 18, for the immediate, and the long-range future; the life events that happened and the effects these events have had on career directions. In addition, the women were asked whether they feel they are stuck or moving in their current job situation. Themes from the interviews affirm that role priorities for family and work have been shaped by socialization and changing opportunities. Many of the women, who felt unprepared previously to integrate occupational behavior in their lives, now report that the need for adaptability to work roles has become a priority.This research was partially supported by an award to the first author by the Canada Employment and Immigration Commission.