Guy talk: contesting masculinities in HIV prevention education with Canadian youth

This paper takes up the concern that sexual health programs targeting adolescents may actually increase HIV risk among youth by reinforcing dominant versions of masculinity that portray males as sexually irresponsible and unconcerned about their health. If a key aim in HIV prevention education is a renegotiation of high‐risk behavioral norms, an important consideration is the ways young people resist stereotypical gender norms that can lead to risky sexual practices. From this perspective, opening up spaces for the expression of counter‐hegemonic masculinities may be an important health prevention strategy. In a study conducted in three urban Toronto high schools, we explore the ways students in mixed‐sex groups supported or challenged dominant discourses of masculinity expressed through three themes: notions of male sexuality as unrestrained and unrestrainable; narrow definitions of sex; and concepts of ‘risk’ and resistance to condom use. We argue that designing HIV prevention programs that begin with the exploration of alternative masculinities may be one way to fashion a framework for gender relations that can offer youth more effective prevention strategies.     

Preschoolers' Ability to Adopt Justice and Care Orientations to Moral Dilemmas

This study examined the moral reasoning that preschoolers use in resolving moral dilemmas. Children's resolutions and justifications were examined with regard to their care orientation and their justice orientation. Thirty-one preschool children participated in the study (18 girls, 13 boys). Children were each read 4 stone containing moral dilemmas and were asked to resolve these dilemmas. The results indicated that children's answers revealed a care orientation or a justice orientation with equal frequency. At times, children could even accept both orientations to the same dilemma. The data analysis also revealed no gender differences in moral orientation. Results are discussed in terms of children's social-cognitive abilities. Educational implications are also raised.     

Student Science Teachers' Accounts of a Well-Remembered Event About Classroom Management

Journal of Science Teacher Education -     

Using journal writing in a graduate science education course to promote constructivist pedagogy

Conclusion The journal writing activity was an opportunity for Tom and his classmates to personalize a constructivist vision of teaching and learning, a step Gallagher’s (1993) teachers identified as the beginning of their transition to a constructivist practice. The efficacy of the journal writing activity may be attributed to its capacity to engage students in metacognitive thinking. That is, the students had an opportunity to think about their ideas rather than merely with them (Kuhn, Amsel, & O’Loughlin, 1988). Indeed, various researchers have associated metacognition with cognitive development, meaningful learning, and conceptual change (e.g., Champagne, Gunstone, & Klopfer, 1985; Kuhn et al., 1988; Pintrich, Marx, & Boyle, 1993). Also, sharing journal entries fostered a sense of community, a support that seems to be essential for teacher change (Shaw & Etchberger, 1993; Taylor, 1993). In fact, students reported the activity to be a “great way to get to know others” and “a way of reducing isolation” because” certainly, a whole class of teachers is better than just one.” Although the purpose of the activity was to promote constructivist pedagogy, it accomplished so much more. It stimulated imaginative questions such as What is the purpose of teaching physics? When is it to review many areas? When is it to understand how physics works in some special instances? In addition, journal writing “was an excellent way to bring about closure.” “It was relaxing … kind of like cool down exercises after a heavy aerobic workout.”     

International summer programs

The author presents a longitudinal case study of a mathematically and verbally gifted child from early years to young manhood focusing on communication behavior and the creative use of a unique learning resource.     

深圳大学城图书馆明年2月建成容量达150万册

据《深圳特区报》报道，作为深圳大学城的标志性建筑之一，总投资2亿元的深圳大学城图书馆将于明年2月建成，成为深圳市第二大图书馆。     

Supporting the transition from primary school to secondary school for children who are Looked After

Anecdotal evidence and statistics indicate that transition to secondary school for children who are “Looked After” is likely to present challenges. The present study aimed to find out the key factors that support Looked After children through this transition, as perceived by the main stakeholders. Data were gathered in two stages, using semi-structured interviews, from Year 6 and Year 7 children and their teachers and carers. Analysis of the results indicates that many different factors may support or hinder the transition, ranging from within-child factors such as resilience and social skills to systemic factors such as the extent of multi-agency working and school admission policies. Four key principles emerged from the results, which may be used to inform tailored transition packages to support children in this vulnerable group through transition. They emphasise the importance of planning and information sharing between key stakeholders, minimising difference, and offering holistic and individualised support.     

More than a Body's Work: Widening Cultural Participation through an International Exploration of Young People's Construction of Visual Image and Identity

The article presents the rationale, methodology, and selected outcomes from More than a body's work, a collaborative, international, arts educational interactive research project. The project, taking place in both New York and England, explored the ways in which young people construct and ‘perform’ identity through the construction of their body and its appearance. The project's central intention was both to investigate diversity in young people's personal and cultural experience, and demonstrate their potential for creative engagement in mediating and expressing identity through a visual form. With its inclusive ethos, More than a body's work facilitated opportunities for young people who may not ordinarily have access to the arts to be partners in collaborative arts production, generating models of wider participation through innovative participatory approaches to visual art and interdisciplinary practice. The ongoing project is developmental, continuing to involve young people as participants, responding to the synthesis of local, national and international influences creatively deployed within youth culture. In considering More than a body's work's significance as a model for inclusive practice within art education, the article will discuss its strategies and its potential impact in relation to current initiatives and policies within the arts, culture and education.