Oral traditions: a contextual framework for complex science concepts—laying the foundation for a paradigm of promise in rural science education

The overarching goal of this paper is to bring a diverse educational context—rural sayings and oral traditions situated in ecological habitats—to light and emphasize that they need to be taken into consideration regarding twenty-first century science education. The rural sayings or tenets presented here are also considered alternative ways of learning and knowing that rural people (elders and children) acquire outside of school in rural places of home and habitat. Throughout this paper we explore the complex nature of rural sayings or tenets that have been shared by community elders and examine their historic scientific roots. In so doing, we uncover a wealth of information regarding the diverse rural sociocultural and ecological connections and the situated macro and micro-contexts from which these tenets arise. We argue for a preservation and educational revitalization of these tenets for current and future generations. We show how this knowledge both augments and differs from traditional western science and science curricula by illuminating the ways in which oral traditions are embedded in place, people, memory and culture. We close by presenting an alternative paradigm for science education that incorporates pluralism as a means to enrich current place-based pedagogies and practices. We suggest that in order to tackle the complex problems in this new age of the Anthropocene, revitalizing elders' wisdom as well as valuing rural children’s diverse knowledge and the inherent connectivity to their habitats needs be cultivated and not expunged by the current trends that standardize learning. As stated in the call for this special issue, “rurality has a real positionality” and much can be learned from individual and unique rural contexts.     

Exploring effects of an early math intervention: The importance of parent–child interaction

We explore whether training parents' math skills or playing number games improves children's mathematical skills. Participants were 162 parent–child dyads; 88.3% were white and children (79 female) were 4 years (M = 46.88 months). Dyads were assigned to a number game, shape game, parent-only approximate number system training, parent-only general trivia, or a no-training control condition and asked to play twice weekly for 8 weeks. Children in the number game condition gained over 15% SD on an assessment of mathematical skill than did those in the no-training control. After 8 additional weeks without training, effects diminished; however, children of parents in the ANS condition underperformed those in the no-treatment control, which was partially explained by changes in the home numeracy environment.     

Is tobacco use a problem among deaf college students?

College students' tobacco use poses a significant public health problem. Effective intervention requires understanding of this behavior among race/ethnic, cultural, and linguistic collegiate subgroups, including deaf and hard of hearing collegians. Findings from a first-ever tobacco-related survey among this understudied population are reported. The authors used written questionnaires and the Interactive Video Questionnaire, a multimedia computer technology developed for use with the deaf and hard of hearing, to interview 241 volunteers on seven California college campuses. They found lower self-reported current smoking prevalence (14.5%) relative to collegians in the general population, but considerable ever smoking (65.1%) and multiple types of tobacco use (37.3%). The authors report on factors associated with tobacco use and on students' exposure to cigarette marketing, gaps experienced in receipt of antitobacco messages and services, and students' antitobacco intervention recommendations. Limitations of the research are described, including possible underreporting of participants' tobacco use.     

Preschool Math Exposure in Private Center-Based Care and Low-SES Children’s Math Development

Research Findings: The present study examined the amount of exposure to math activities that children of low socioeconomic status (SES) encounter in private community-based preschool classrooms and whether greater time in these activities predicted higher math skills. Three cohorts of 4- to 5-year-old children were recruited from 30 private centers, resulting in a sample of 288 children nested within 73 preschool classrooms. Classroom observations were conducted for 150 min during fall and winter of the preschool year using a time sampling method. Preschoolers were exposed to an average daily amount of 2 min (range = 0–23) of math exposure. Hierarchical linear models were run to examine associations between math exposure and math achievement. Children’s exposure to math activities significantly and positively predicted their spring math scores, but associations between math exposure and math scores were stronger for children with lower initial cognitive abilities and self-regulation skills. Practice or Policy: Our findings revealed generally low levels of math instruction occurring in private child care centers primarily serving low-SES children. Even limited exposure to math activities predicted children’s math skills, however, which highlights the importance of math content in these settings.     

Young women’s dismissal of the influence of gender upon their future life trajectory as played out in ‘New Times’

This paper investigates the ways in which young women come to view gender as being an influence upon their future lives—their aspirations and expectations for the future. In doing so, it draws upon 327 surveys completed by year 12 female students, typically 17 years of age, in a range of schools across the State of Queensland, Australia. The paper details key features of the young women’s survey responses—the dominant storylines evident in the data—as a means of illustrating how they have come to dismiss gender as an influence. Further, the paper illuminates the power and pervasiveness of neoliberal discourse in ‘New Times’, the ways in which the young women surveyed embrace neoliberalism and its imperative of individualisation and do so in ways that locate gender as irrelevant in their imagining and enacting of their life biographies. Finally, the paper explores the implications of such research findings for these—and other—young women.