Sociocultural anchors for incorporating sustainability in youth movements: Comparison among secular,religious, and ultraorthodox movements

Abstract

In Israel, youth movements (YMs) comprise a main agent for nonformal education of youth and a youth-engagement framework in which civic engagement can be expanded to address environmental challenges. A major source of sociocultural diversity among YMs is their religious identity, based on the categorizations of secular, religious, and ultraorthodox. We compared, among these groups, the environmental literacy (EL) characteristics of “young-guides” and YM-leaders’ perspectives of sustainability in relation to their YM. Differences among groups were found in the young-guides’ EL: members of secular YMs demonstrated greater EL and openness to including pro-environmental activities within their YM. “Judaism as a platform for addressing sustainability” emerged as a major theme from leaders’ interviews. Implications for meaningful incorporation of sustainability and EE within the groups are discussed.     

Methods that matter in addressing cultural diversity with teacher candidates

Drawing on a combination of prior experience, theoretical stance, and intuition, along with pedagogical practices identified to be effective in addressing diversity with teacher candidates, a model for teaching multicultural education to teacher candidates was designed. This study examined how particular elements of this model were effective in developing teacher candidate’s cultural competence. The results indicate that teacher candidates gained substantial knowledge about and experiences with issues of diversity by the end of the course. Participants pointed to the multiple methods employed in the class; in particular the interactive strategies, group work, diverse cultural experiences, and opportunities to critically reflect on these experiences as accounting for their gains. Their sense of ownership and understanding has given them the ability to use these strategies in their own future work. Implications for research and teacher education are discussed.     

Principles and pragmatism in private higher education: examples from Britain and Germany

The origins, ethos, academic organisation and funding basis of the first private universities in Germany and Britain are described and compared. The role of these universities within their respective national systems is discussed, and the paper concludes with general comments about the value of nonstate institutions of higher education.     

A Comparison of Reader Strategies on Two Versions of A Newspaper Editorial

Reading is seen as a communication process, a meaningful interaction between the reader and his reading text. A number of factors are known to affect this interaction. One prominent factor is the type of text being read. That is, reader strategies may vary in relation to text characteristics. This study used miscue analysis to find out patterns of reader strategies on two types of texts: a syntactically complex and high vocabulary loaded text and a syntactically simple and low vocabulary loaded text. To this end, cloze tests of passages derived from two versions of a newspaper editorial completed by twenty undergraduate education students from the University of Jos were analysed. The results indicated that the readers of the difficult text had less access to semantic and syntactic cues than the readers of the simplified text. Readers for whom the difficult text was on frustration level made less use of context than did readers for whom the same text was on instructional level. There was very little difference in quality of miscues by readers of the simplified text reading on independent level as compared with those reading the same text on instructional level. Readers who performed on instructional level on the difficult passage used similar reading strategies to those who performed on instructional level on the simplified passage. The implications of the findings for reading instruction were discussed.     

Evaluation of the dust and methanol extracts of Garcinia kolae for the control of Callosobruchus maculatus (F.) and Sitophilus zeamais (Mots)

Insecticidal effects of different doses of the dust and methanol extracts of Garcinia kolae on Collosobruchus maculatus and Sitophilus zeamais were tested. The dust had no significant effect on the two insects; none of them died even at 3 d after treatment. The methanol extracts, however, had rapid lethal effects on both C. maculatus and S. zeamais. The mortality of C. maculatus by the lowest concentration of methanol extracts ranged from 95%∼100% whereas in S. zeamais, the mortality ranged from 87.5%∼100% and 70%∼100% in concentrations of 1 g extract+3 ml methanol and 1 g extract+5 ml methanol, respectively, from 24 to 48 h. The least concentration of 1 g extract+15 ml methanol had no significant lethal effect on Sitophilus zeamais.      

The reliability and construct validity of ratings for the autism behavior checklist

The reliability and construct validity of ratings for the Autism Behavior Checklist were examined with a sample of 198 children diagnosed with autistic disorder and conditions often confused with autism. Alpha coefficients for the five scales of the ABC as well as the Total Score were reported and the factor structure of the ABC was examined through confirmatory factor analysis. The results of the reliability analyses indicated that the Total Score alpha coefficient of the ABC was adequate for screening purposes, but the reliabilities of the scales were not. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated some support for alternate four‐ and five‐factor models. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 43: 129–142, 2006.     

Intentionality and Thinking as ‘Hearing’. A Response to Biesta’s Agenda

In his 2012 article Philosophy of Education for the Public Good: Five Challenges and an Agenda, Gert Biesta identifies five substantial issues about the future of education and the work required to address these issues. This article employs a Heideggerian reading of education to evaluate ‘Biesta’s truth’. I argue that Biesta’s point of view (a) underestimates knowledge’s predominance and relativism; (b) frames intentionality in pre-Heideggerian terms, which—although not a problem in itself because an individual is free to choose a particular perspective on the concept—raises the issue of consistency in Biesta’s theoretical framework; and (c) a final criticism concerns Biesta’s choice of tools for engaging with the identified challenges: The primary tools Biesta uses are intrinsic to the perspective he challenges. The use of a ‘first person perspective’ to frame pedagogy that focuses on the subject and ‘subjectification’ reaffirms the fundamental Western gesture that makes human beings subjects who ‘stand-over-and-against’ the world. I argue that it is possible to penetrate Plato’s ‘theoretical gaze’ and find a ‘weak’ alternative to an all-encompassing point of view of education through a Heideggerian approach that regards intentionality and thinking as ‘hearing’.     

Parent Motivation Strategies and the Performance of Preschoolers in a Rural Philippine Municipality

Although under-investment in children is an identified problem in low-income developing countries (LDC) and the establishment and use of preschools has been advocated as a partial remedy, the readiness of children and parents for preschool in LDC has been little studied. This paper assesses motivational techniques that parents report using with preschool children in a rural Philippine municipality. The purposes of this study were to examine: (a) whether the motivation strategies used by parents are consistent with a “balanced, holistic approach” to child development and (b) whether the parents’ motivational strategies are associated with school performance. The study suggests some over-weighting by parents of academic achievement, but otherwise more appropriate child-oriented behaviors were observed than reported in some research. Motivation by parents also was associated with preschool performance.     

Inclusivity,participation and collaboration: Learning in interactive groups

ABSTRACT

Background: Interaction, participation and collaboration are thought to be important factors for supporting successful second or foreign language learning. The use of Interactive Groups (IGs) is regarded as helpful in creating the conditions in which interaction, participation and collaboration are increased to create effective dialogic learning. However, there is limited understanding of the role of IGs in supporting second or foreign language learning.

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to explore the opportunities that IGs generated for supporting interaction, participation and collaboration in a situation where students were learning English as a foreign language.

Method: A communicative methodology was used to collect and analyse observational and interview data from three classrooms where teaching and learning was organised through IGs, each in a different school in Spain involved in Schools as Learning Communities: Successful Educational Actions (SEAs). Across the three classrooms, there were 58 students, three teachers and 14 volunteers, whose role was to support and encourage communication. The schools served low SES communities. We conducted eight classroom observations and 17 semi-structured interviews. The data were analysed qualitatively.

Findings: The thematic analysis suggested that, in the classrooms that were studied, there was evidence that participants and observers felt that IGs promoted effective conditions for the inclusive participation of all learners, created a favourable climate for collaborative interactions regarding the target language and raised learning expectations for all students. In addition, the contribution of the volunteers was identified as crucial to the successful functioning of the IGs.

Conclusion: This small scale, qualitative study highlights the potential for IGs to create favourable conditions for the learning of English and other languages as a foreign language. More extensive studies are needed to determine the best way to use IGs for the teaching and learning of foreign languages in other contexts.     

Portraits of PBL: students' experiences of the characteristics of problem-based learning in physiotherapy,computer engineering and psychology

The present study is part of acomprehensive research project with the generalaims of comparing how problem-based learning isrealised in three different professionaleducational programmes. The specific aims ofthis study are to describe and analyse howstudents in the three different programmesconceive of the meaning of problem-basedlearning and how they experience their studieswithin a problem-based learning programme. ThePBL programmes are a Bachelor's programme inPhysiotherapy, a Master's programme inPsychology, and a Master's programme inComputer Engineering. Data were analysedqualitatively. The results reveal differencesin how the students in the three programmesconceive of their autonomy as learners,co-operation with their counterparts and theauthenticity of the learning task. The findingspossibly also reflect the taken-for-grantedperspectives of knowledge, embedded in thecultures of the professional practices and thescientific disciplines to which the programmespertain.