Transitioning to a more sustainable society: unpacking the role of the learning–action nexus

In recent years, action on sustainability has been highly influential around the globe and many now recognize the importance of individual and social learning for inspiring action and achieving sustainability outcomes. Transformative learning theory has been criticized, however, for insufficient development of the link between learning and action. The purpose of this paper is to deepen our understanding of the learning–action cycle among adult learners in the sustainability context. We consider this through insights from two studies in Kenya and Canada, utilizing a qualitative approach. Both studies employed semi-structured interviews as their primary data collection instrument and used other tools such as focus groups and journal writing. Three broad nodes of social action—individual, interpersonal and collective—are identified and defined based on the data collected. Results show that while all three types of action were evident in the outcomes of participants, individual social action was the most common and collective social action was the least. Barriers to applying learning in action are also derived from the data, including situational, personal, interpersonal, sociocultural and environmental obstacles. Factors that assist in overcoming such barriers include community support networks and skills training.     

Educators’ perceptions of bringing students to environmental consciousness through engaging outdoor experiences

This paper explores the premise that environmental education involves raising environmental consciousness rather than simply knowing about the environment in a technical-rational manner and acting for it in mechanistic prescribed ways. The paper draws on educational theory and data from a phenomenological case study of educators working together at an outdoor education centre in urban Canada, whose practice of environmental education we believe can best be described as environmental consciousness raising. Based on our study’s findings, we suggest that raising environmental consciousness involves connecting people to their environment, fostering care for the environment, and building agency for the environment. Educating for environmental consciousness also requires providing people with deeply engaging experiences that afford authenticity, multidimensionality and serendipity. Our study shows how these features can work to raise environmental consciousness, by creating epiphanies or moments when sudden expansions of the self, realization and empowerment become possible.     

Do actions speak louder than words? An effect of the functional use of language on dominant sex role behavior in boys and girls

Although a number of studies document the fact that adult males interrupt females more often than females interrupt males, less is known about whether this behavior is also true of younger boys and girls. This study examined some aspects of dominant-submissive sex role behavior in preschool children and their teachers during conversation at the snack table. It asked whether there was any difference in the number of times girls and boys interrupted their teacher, and whether there was any difference in the number of times the teacher interrupted boys or girls. In succeeding observations, researchers investigated whether girls or boys were assigned the privilege of passing snack more frequently.In Investigation 1 nine boys and nine girls, 4 years of age, were observed talking with a variety of student teachers in a naturalistic snack setting, and checklists were kept of the number of teacher-child, child-teacher interruptions during conversation. In Investigation 2, tallies were kept of the number of times boys and girls assumed the dominant roles of distributing snacks and snack materials.Results indicted that during conversation, boys interrupted their teachers more frequently than the girls did (p > .03). Teachers interrupted girls more frequently than they interrupted boys (p > .02). No significant differences were found in the frequency of participation by boys or girls in passing snack. Results are discussed in relation to the teacher's role in teaching dominant-submissive sex role behaviors to children.     

Yoga asanas as an effective form of experiential learning when teaching musculoskeletal anatomy of the lower limb

Physical movement as a conduit for experiential learning within the academic context of anatomy is a strategy currently used in university dance education. This same approach can be applied to other movement‐based practices, for example, yoga. The primary purpose of this study was to pilot a novel teaching curriculum to yoga practitioners, based on Bruner's Theory of Instruction, which incorporated the four adaptive modes of Kolb's Theory of Experiential Learning. The secondary purpose was to assess the applicability of anatomical knowledge within the participants' yoga practice. Following the development of a curriculum appropriate for a spectrum of academic backgrounds, participants were recruited to attend a 2‐hour learning session within the Department of Anatomy at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. The learning session guided participants through the bones and muscles of the lower limb pertaining to five specific yoga poses. Based on participant feedback, the sessions were positively received and consistent. In addition, learning session participants were able to apply the anatomical information they were taught to their yoga practice 1‐month later. Bruner and Kolb's independent theories on curriculum design and effective learning practice were successfully incorporated to create a 2‐hour learning session. The potential use of experiential learning to compliment and/or enhance traditional didactic teaching in the academic context of anatomy should be further explored. Anat Sci Educ. © 2012 American Association of Anatomists.     

Emotional intelligence and academic attainment of British secondary school children: a cross-sectional survey

Trait emotional intelligence (trait EI) covers a wide range of self-perceived skills and personality dispositions such as motivation, confidence, optimism, peer relations and coping with stress. In the last few years, there has been a growing awareness that social and emotional factors play an important part in students’ academic success and it has been claimed that those with high scores on a trait EI measure perform better. This research investigated whether scores on a questionnaire measure of trait EI were related to school performance in a sample of British pupils. Results showed that high performing students had higher trait EI scores than low performing students and that some aspects of trait EI (motivation and low impulsivity) as well as total trait EI were significant predictors of academic achievement after controlling for prior attainment at school. Therefore, initiatives to develop the emotional and social abilities of schoolchildren might be worthwhile and more effective than concentrating solely on teaching and curriculum activities.     

Navigating the Religious Landscape in Schools: Towards Inclusive Leadership

This article identifies historical and contemporary influences of religion in US public schooling. It provides analytical questions that social justice leaders can use to evaluate the practices embedded in their own schools, including an equity audit.     

Professional ideology and physicians’ perceived disclosure patterns toward cancer patients

This study examined differences in physicians’ perceptions of their disclosure patterns toward cancer patients based on their professional ideological orientation. Adapting Strauss et al.’s (1964) sociotherapeutic (SCT) and somatotherapeutic (SMT) ideologies, it was hypothesized that physicians who strongly identified with the SCT ideology would perceive themselves as more willing to disclose the diagnosis to cancer patients and that there would be differences in the way and types of information presented depending on physicians’ ideological orientation. The findings suggest that physicians perceive choosing particular disclosure patterns based, in part, on their professional ideological orientations. Those who identify with a strong SCT orientation perceive themselves as more willing to disclose the diagnosis and provide some additional information to cancer patients and their families. Implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.