Responsible intra-action in a science center

Cultural Studies of Science Education - In this forum article, I reflect on the findings by Eva Silfver in Gender performance in an out of school science context. Silfver has studied a class of...     

How are UK Academics Engaging the Public with their Research? A Cross‐Disciplinary Perspective

This paper takes a cross‐disciplinary perspective in examining the views and practices of public engagement with research by UK academics. Using a mixed method approach consisting of a survey questionnaire and interviews, the paper identifies the range of audience groups that can potentially be engaged with by academics, and shows that some audiences are more relevant to particular disciplinary groups than others. The paper also identifies the various public engagement activities undertaken by academics and finds that some academics are using creative ways of engaging the public, such as using the services of public relations firms to help in disseminating their research in traditional media outlets, and also by using social media. Essentially, the study reveals that some academics feel the pressure of engaging particular audiences at the expense of those that are relevant to them and that, academics in the main, are opposed to the notion of mandating public engagement as part of appraisal systems.     

From Out-of-Body Experience to Embodied Imagination: How a Seriously Awkward Kid Became a Passionate if Improbable Ambassador of Yoga-Based Creativity Training for Actors,Artists … and Little Girls

A narrative reflection on the relationship between physical life and creativity, and exploration of yoga as a foundational tool for imaginative empowerment.     

Providing Cognitively Just Subject Access to Indigenous Knowledge through Knowledge Organization Systems

This article explores cognitively just, reliable subject access to indigenous knowledge through knowledge organization systems (KOSs). Cognitive justice requires that indigenous people be able to access materials in a way that respects their worldview, yet dominant KOSs are based on positivist, Western approaches that are fundamentally incompatible. Alternatives to universal systems include the creation of new KOSs and the adaptation of universal ones. Going forward, emerging web technologies are presented as key to moving away from universalist schemes and toward specialized access.     

Parents’ information seeking during adolescent career development: a test of the theory of motivated information management

Parents are an important source of advice when adolescents are faced with decisions about postsecondary education and career planning; however, parents often need to seek information to facilitate their child’s career development. This study applies the theory of motivated information management (TMIM) to evaluate the decision-making process parents undergo in this context and tests the boundaries of TMIM by considering how individuals use face-to-face (FtF) and online sources to alleviate uncertainty-related anxieties. A community sample of parents (N?=?937) completed a survey regarding their information seeking behaviors surrounding their adolescent’s career development. Parents reported using both FtF and online sources to seek information about their child’s postsecondary plans, and they engaged in different evaluative processes depending on the source of information. Theoretical implications related to TMIM and practical implications related to parents as sources of information in adolescent career development are discussed.     

Integrated,marginal, and resilient: race,class, and the diverse experiences of white first‐generation college students

While first‐generation college students are ‘at risk’, the majority do persist. Using in‐depth interviews with 28 white college students I ask: How do white, first‐generation, working‐class students understand their college experiences, especially in terms of their academic, social, and cultural adjustment? Moreover, what kinds of factors seem to help or hinder their adjustment to college life? I discovered three patterns of adjustment among these students: (1) about half expressed few feelings of marginality and appeared well integrated into campus life; (2) one quarter experienced persistent and debilitating marginality; and (3) another quarter overcame their feelings of marginality en route to becoming socially and academically engaged on campus, with some transforming their feelings of marginality into motivation for social change. I argue that these variations can be understood by looking at how working‐class students’ economic resources may function as an asset, while their whiteness may function alternately as an asset and a liability.     

Promoting Interaction Among Students in Distance Education

Abstract

This short article describes an oral interactive exercise using voice mail. I had two purposes in mind when I devised this exercise. One, to provide students with a chance to hear fellow students describe their work, and two, to demonstrate their skill in judging relevant work of a peer.     

Standards in examinations: a matter of trust?

This paper is addressed to the international community of educators and educational policy makers who, it is argued, need to commit to joint research and creative action in respect of the challenge of Education for All (EFA). The first section, A Global Challenge for Teacher Development, sets out: the implications for teacher education of the Education For All agenda; the potential of new information and communication technologies (ICT) in addressing this problem; an overview of an applied research project exploring new models of teacher education using ICT in rural and resource challenged environments. In the second section Towards New Models of Professional Development, four categories of teacher professional knowledge from this model are used to interpret and explore the findings of the project and its impact on teacher knowledge and development. The paper concludes that ICT can no longer be viewed as some sort of optional pedagogic strategy available in ever increasing sophistication, as well as quantity, to only a small proportion of the world's teachers. They need to be seen as an essential aspect of teaching's cultural toolkit in the 21st century, affording new and transformative models of development that extend the nature and reach of teacher learning wherever it takes place. Such models must be experienced, shared and evaluated by educators world wide if the global commitment to achievement of the EFA targets is to become a reality.