Constructivist Metaphors of Learning Science

Based on an analysis of a fundamental distinction between metaphors of finding versus making for the obtaining of new knowledge, a number of constructivist positions in education are discussed and criticised, taking account of earlier criticism particularly by Suchting and by Matthews. Constructivist claims which are denied include the claim that we have no direct access to the world, and the claim that communication is inherently meaningless. What is valuable in constructivism, namely the insistence on active learning, on respect for the pupils own thinking, and on the high priority needed for ideas taught to make sense to pupils, together with the reminder that science is a human product, is important to retain without its additional and ill-founded philosophical baggage.     

Books and articles of academic interest

Books and articles of academic interest     

‘Approaches to the Teaching of Special Relativity Theory in High School and University Textbooks of Argentina’

In this work, we presented an analysis of the representation of the special relativity theory (SRT) in the most used texts in high school, Polimodal level and university level in the teaching in the Argentine Republic, from a historic, epistemological and didactic perspective. The results show that none of the analyzed texts would allow a contextualized approach on such theory.     

Early Childhood Services in Ireland

This paper gives background information on early childhood services in Ireland and presents the results of a survey of the preschool experiences of 1065 children. The results of the survey suggest that the majority of children experienced some form of early childhood service before starting school. The most common service was a playgroup although a significant proportion of the children had experienced home‐based care with a relative or family day care provider. The implications of the findings for the development of a policy on early childhood services are discussed.     

Mathematics in Physics Education: Scanning Historical Evolution of the Differential to Find a More Appropriate Model for Teaching Differential Calculus in Physics

Despite its frequent use, there is little understanding of the concept of differential among upper high school and undergraduate students of physics. As a first step to identify the origin of this situation and to revert it, we have done a historic and epistemological study aimed at clarifying the role and the meaning of the differential in physics and at improving curricular and teaching models in the sense of Gilbert et al. (Gilbert J.K., Boulter C., & Rutherford, M.: 1998a, International Journal of Science Education 20(1), 83–97, Gilbert J.K., Boulter C., & Rutherford, M.: 1998b, International Journal of Science Education 20(2), 187–203). We describe the contributions of Leibniz and Cauchy and stress their shortcomings, which are overcome by the alternative definition proposed by the French mathematician Fréchet, dating from early 20th century. As a result of this study, we answer to some fundamental questions related to a proper understanding of the differential in physics education (for 17–19 years old students).     

Diversified secondary education in Kenya: The status of practical subjects, and effects on attitudes and destinations after school

The paper presents findings from an evaluation of ‘industrial education’ subjects (wood, metal, electrical and power technology) in Kenyan academic secondary schools. As a project established in 35 schools with comprehensive aid agency (SIDA) support, these subjects do not suffer from lack of attraction to students or from low teacher morale. Exposure to them increases students' aspirations and expectations of ‘technical/practical’ work, but the problem is not lack of interest in such work, but rather scarce opportunity to realise such ambition, in a labour market where school leavers face great problems in finding a source of livelihood. Except for individual cases, exposure to these subjects does not seem to give students an advantage in the labour market, according to findings from a one-year follow-up. Further, doing well in general on the lower secondary examination does not confer any short-term labour market advantage either, suggesting that personal contacts rather than school credentials are decisive. We conclude policy makers need to recognise that pre-vocational subjects should be seen as part of general education rather than as a remedy for youth unemployment.     

Technical secondary students in Kenya: Origins,achievement and destinations

Working within a comparative perspective, has published on pre-vocational education and vocational training, the teaching profession, distribution of authority in education systems and university policy.     

Cultural variation in children's social organization

This article examines how 31 triads of 6- to 10-year-old children from 3 cultural backgrounds organized their interactions while folding Origami figures. Triads of children whose families had immigrated to the United States from indigenous heritage regions of México (and whose mothers averaged only 7 grades of schooling) coordinated more often as an ensemble, whereas triads of European heritage U.S. children whose mothers had extensive schooling more often engaged dyadically or individually. When the European heritage children did engage as an ensemble, this often involved chatting rather than nonverbal conversation regarding folding, which was more common among the Mexican heritage children. Mexican heritage U.S. triads whose mothers had extensive schooling showed an intermediate pattern or resembled the European heritage children.     

Locus and nature of perceptual phonological deficit in Spanish children with reading disabilities

The aims of this study were (a) to determine whether Spanish children with reading disabilities (RD) show a speech perception deficit and (b) to explore the locus and nature of this perceptive deficit. A group of 29 children with RD, 41 chronological age-matched controls, and 27 reading ability-matched younger controls were tested on tasks of speech perception. The effect of linguistic unit (word vs. syllable) and type of phonetic contrast (voicing, place and manner of articulation) were analyzed in terms of the number of errors and the response time. The results revealed a speech perception deficit in Spanish children with RD that was independent of the type of phonetic contrast and of linguistic unit.     

Evaluation and publication delay in Ibero-American scientific journals

This article analyses the review, acceptance and publication dates of a sample of 21,890 articles from 326 Ibero-American scientific journals from all subject areas and countries included in the Latindex Catalogue 2.0 and published between 2018 and 2020 (freely available as an open access dataset). The aim is to discover evaluation and publication times. The evaluation process takes a median of 110 days, the publication process, a median of 82 days, and the whole process, a median of 224 days. Statistical differences are found according to periodicity, subject areas, countries, existence of a printed version and article type (Call for Papers or General articles). From the data we find that the delay in publication is longer than publishers themselves report to the DOAJ. STEM areas present the most similarity in publication patterns, having a higher number of evaluation days (Ed) than publication days (Pd); Arts and Humanities present the opposite pattern, with a higher Pd than Ed. In the case of Social Sciences, the times are similar. General articles and Call for Papers articles differ in terms of Ed, but not Pd, indicating that Call for Papers revisions are faster.