Reproduction of social class in the teaching and learning of science in urban high schools

The study examines the teaching and learning of science in an urban high school characterised by African American students from conditions of relative poverty. An interpretive study was undertaken involving a research team that included the teacher in the study and a student from the school. Despite the teacher's effort to enact a curriculum that was transformative the students resisted most of his efforts to enhance their learning. The study highlights the difficulties of engaging students when they lack motivation to learn and attend sporadically. In an era of standards-oriented science in which all students are expected to achieve at a high level, it is essential that research identify ways to tailor the science curriculum to the needs and interests of students.     

Learning from physics text: A synthesis of recent research

Learning from physics text is described as a complex interaction of learner, text, and context variables. As a multidimensional procedure, text processing in the domain of physics relies on readers' knowledge and interest, and on readers' ability to monitor or regulate their processing. Certain textual features intended to assist readers in understanding and remembering physics content may actually work to the detriment of those very processes. Inclusion of seductive details and the incorporation of analogies may misdirect readers' attention or may increase processing demands, particularly in those cases when readers' physics knowledge is low. The questioning behaviors of teachers also impact on the task of comprehending physics texts. Finally, within the context of the classroom, the information that teachers dispense or the materials they employ can significantly influence the process of learning from physics text.     

Pupil engagement in learning tasks: A fertile area for research in science teaching

This synthesis of research in academic engagement addresses studies in several academic areas. A general relationship of teacher performance and student engagement in learning tasks is noted. More importantly, a substantial relationship between degree of engagement and achievement has been reported in numerous studies. The paucity of engagement studies in science is surprising given the variation in engagement rates in science classrooms. Numerous research questions are suggested for science education researchers. A particularly fertile area for investigation is the categorization of engagement.     

The Multiple Faces of Peer Review in Science Education

I use autobiographical narratives to describe and analyse my involvement in peer review activities in science education and to illustrate their historical, social and cultural constitution. I explore ways in which peer review and science education have interrelated in 30-plus years in which I have been a science educator. I employ cultural sociology and activity theory to identify patterns of coherence and coexisting contradictions that create tensions able to catalyse improvements in science education. I argue that early career science educators need a gradual induction into peer review activities, preferably increasing their effectiveness by coparticipating with more experienced colleagues. Also, I critically examine my roles as a peer reviewer, within various contexts that include being an editor of journals and a book series, an examiner of dissertations and an advisor of graduate students, and as a reviewer of applications for tenure and promotion. In so doing I probe power relationships between the reviewer and the reviewed and explore the possibility that peer review is hegemonic. Finally, I present strategies for science educators to reach a collective understanding of how to enact peer review equitably.     

Aligning the Cultures of Teaching and Learning Science in Urban High Schools

This paper analyzes teaching and learning in urban science classrooms in which most of the students are African American and from low-income homes. Their teachers are also racial minorities and yet they struggle to teach successfully across cultural boundaries. The first set of case studies involves a male teacher who taught in a high-energy way that produced structures for students to get involved in the doing of science. His verbal fluency and expressive individualism, involving emphatic gestures, rhythmic use of his body, and voice intonation maintained student participation. A second case study examines successful interactions among the students, involving an argument over competing models for chemical valence. Whereas the students interacted successfully, the teacher was frequently out of synchrony in terms of amplitude, pitch, and non-verbal actions. The key implication is the necessity for teachers and students to learn how to interact successfully in ways that produce positive emotional energy, a sense of belonging to the class, and a commitment to shared responsibility for one another's participation. Aligning the cultures of teaching and learning offers a possibility that fluent interactions will occur, afford success, and facilitate the learning of science.     

Relational Predictors of Psychological Distress in Women and Men Presenting for University Counseling Center Services

The authors examined psychological distress and relational patterns in college men and women. Peer, mentor, and community relationships; year in school; and family experiences were hypothesized to predict psychological distress, although predictive patterns were expected to differ in women and men. Overall, results supported the hypotheses. Findings are interpreted from the perspective of the relational‐cultural model. Counseling implications focus on interventions congruent with the specific relational needs of women and men.     

Peer Review in Science Education: An Introduction

This is an introduction to a special issue of Research in Science Education that focuses on peer review in science education. We introduce each of the articles in the special issue and highlight some of the issues that are addressed and the methods employed in the articles that follow. We regard peer review as central to issues of research in science education and publication of this special issue as just in time.