Traveling with MI education in a turbulent sea: stories of South Korea

The purpose of this paper is to explore ways in which multiple intelligences (MI) theory has been disseminated in search of its meaning, effectiveness and possibilities over the last decade in Korea. There have been a great number of Korean practitioners who have properly applied an ideal of MI theory in their local context. Western readers will be informed of how actively these educators participate in the grass‐roots reform process. A traditional or teacher‐based image of Oriental education culture may have to be redefined, at least in the current Korean educational context. In doing so, the authors reviewed related literature and research articles written by Korean scholars and practitioners as well as conducting in‐depth and focus‐group interviews nationwide to represent voices of Korean MI educators at school level. There has been substantive evidence that most students guided by MI instruction demonstrated better achievement in several subject areas; students typically labeled low achievers in traditional classrooms became better self‐regulated learners, showing higher self‐esteem. Finally, the Korean research community experienced the emergence of a new collaborative research culture in which MI educators are fully acknowledged as curriculum designers and researchers able to gain insight into culturally appropriate classroom practices. The authors end this paper reflecting on a future hope that the Korean research community will continue, both critically and collaboratively, to examine MI theory to make it more applicable in establishing culturally relevant pedagogical insights.     

The Hermeneutical-Praxis Paradigm and Practical Theology

The aim of this article is to propose a method for practical theology, the hermeneutical-praxis paradigm, based on discussions of three different methodological approaches to practical theology. This article suggests the hermeneutical-praxis paradigm, which bridges theory and practice, which connects church with society, which correlates theology with its non-theological partners. This method provides an adequate framework for examining our present situation in contemporary, postmodern context as well as exploring possibilities for practical theology and more particularly, religious education.     

A Framework for Designing Scaffolds That Improve Motivation and Cognition

A problematic, yet common, assumption among educational researchers is that when teachers provide authentic, problem-based experiences, students will automatically be engaged. Evidence indicates that this is often not the case. In this article, we discuss (a) problems with ignoring motivation in the design of learning environments, (b) problem-based learning and scaffolding as one way to help, (c) how scaffolding has strayed from what was originally equal parts motivational and cognitive support, and (d) a conceptual framework for the design of scaffolds that can enhance motivation as well as cognitive outcomes. We propose guidelines for the design of computer-based scaffolds to promote motivation and engagement while students are solving authentic problems. Remaining questions and suggestions for future research are then discussed.     

When love hurts: Assessing the intersectionality of ethnicity,socio-economic status,parental connectedness,child abuse,and gender attitudes in juvenile violent delinquency

Researchers have not yet reached agreement about the validity of several competing explanations that seek to explain ethnic differences in juvenile violent offending. Ethnicity cannot solely explain why boys with an ethnic minority background commit more (violent) crimes. By assessing the intersectionality of structural, cultural and individual considerations, both the independent effects as well as the interplay between different factors can be examined. This study shows that aforementioned factors cumulatively play a role in severe violent offending, with parental connectedness and child abuse having the strongest associations. However, since most variables interact and ethnicity is associated with those specific factors, a conclusion to be drawn is that ethnicity may be relevant as an additional variable predicting severe violent offending although indirectly.     

Role of emotion dysregulation in the relationship between childhood abuse and probable PTSD in a sample of substance abusers

This study examined associations among childhood abuse, emotion dysregulation, and probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) within a sample of 93 substance use disorder (SUD) patients in residential treatment. SUD patients with probable PTSD (vs. non-PTSD) reported (a) greater severity of childhood sexual, physical, and emotional abuse and (b) significantly higher levels of overall emotion dysregulation and the specific dimensions of difficulties engaging in goal-directed behavior when upset, difficulties controlling impulsive behaviors when distressed, limited access to effective emotion regulation strategies, and lack of emotional clarity. Additionally, significant positive associations were found between both childhood physical and emotional (but not sexual) abuse on the one hand and dimensions of emotion dysregulation on the other. Further analyses indicated that difficulties controlling impulsive behaviors when distressed accounted for the associations of both childhood physical and emotional abuse with probable PTSD status. Findings of the present study highlight a potential mechanism underlying the relationships between both childhood emotional and physical abuse and PTSD in SUD patients.     

The Twenty Day Program

Conversational competence is a process, not a state. Ithaca does not exist, only the voyage to Ithaca. Vibrant campuses are a series of productive conversations. At its core, communicative competence in academic settings mirrors a collective search for meaning regarding the purpose and direction of a campus community. Communicative competence requires a cogent answer to the question: “Do we each organize our work from the same shared sense of what is significant?” Research suggests that as much as 90 percent of the time spent in effective faculty conversations is devoted to creating clarity regarding what colleagues desire to achieve. Conversationally adept leaders and followers can consciously design their own conversations to set the tone and direction of collegial conversation and create a shift in thinking and action for everyone in a meeting room.     

Safety in numbers? Middle-class parents and social mix in London primary schools

Research into parents’ secondary-school choices suggests that many middle-class parents are keen to secure a middle-class peer group for their children. This article reports the findings of a small-scale, qualitative study into whether a similar phenomenon exists at primary-school level and, if so, why. In-depth interviews were conducted with 56 middle-class parents of pre-school children in inner London. Respondents often had contradictory impulses. Nearly all liked the idea of a socially mixed school but many associated the ‘wrong’ mix with various risks. Some of these perceived risks are familiar from previous studies. Others are less familiar, such as the fear among respondents that they themselves might not ‘fit in’ at their children’s school. The types of intake which respondents preferred fell into three overlapping categories: children from ‘pro-school’ families, children at a similar level of achievement to respondents’ own children and ‘people like us’. Respondents’ judgements about whether children and families fell into these categories were based in part on ideas about class, ethnicity and language. Respondents gravitated toward schools where most children were perceived to come from middle-class, white, English-speaking backgrounds. The article argues that attitudes towards children learning English as an additional language need to receive greater attention in future research.     

The Relationship Between Thinking Style Differences and Career Choices for High-Achieving Students

The intent of this study was to present information about high-achieving students' career decision making associated with thinking styles. We gathered data from two International Baccalaureate (IB) programs and a Governor's School Program with a sample of 209 high-school students. The findings of this study demonstrated that the effect of program on the different thinking styles was statistically significant. The findings showed that external thinking style was a good predictor for choosing social science areas as future careers. However, students with higher external thinking styles chose computer and math areas 73% less often than students with lower external thinking styles. In addition, the findings demonstrated that high-school students attending a program with an academic focus on liberal arts tended to be more people oriented and outgoing and valued sharing ideas with others as opposed to students in a program with an academic focus on science and technology. Finally, students attending a program with an academic focus on liberal arts tended to be more systematic and set priorities more often than students in a program with an academic focus on science and technology.