Mentoring retrained teachers: extending the web

Novice teachers need support if they are to survive the reality of school. A web of relationships involving members of the school community, mentors outside the school community and a university tutor has been shown to be an effective way of providing this assistance. This article describes an extended web of assistance offered to a group of 11 teachers retrained to teach science. As they made the transition to science teaching these teachers identified a need for guidance and support in learning about a new subject and a new school environment. In some cases the school community was able to provide this guidance and support but in other cases the retrained teachers were met with scepticism by their fellow teachers and needed assistance from other sources. The extended web of relationships they accessed included district consultants provided by the employer, mentors located outside of the school, fellow graduates and a university tutor. All retrained teachers were also assisted in their development as reflective teachers by the production of a portfolio. The addition of an online component to the portfolio, allowing the sharing of ideas between the retrained teacher and the university tutor coordinating the program is proposed as a valuable component of the mentoring network.     

Bookstores and Other Book Sources

Ruth Adler's A Day in the Life of the New York Times (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1971—$6.77)

Les Daniels and The Mad Peck, Comix: A History of Comic Books in America (New York: Outerbridge &; Dienstfrey, 1971—$7.95)

75 Years of the Comics (Boston: Boston Book and Art Co., 1971—$9.95)

International Newspapers from University Microfilms (Ann Arbor, Michigan: University Microfilms, 1971—free on request, paper)

Chilton R. Bush (ed.) News Research for Better Newspapers (New York: American Newspaper Publishers Association Foundation, 750 Third Ave., 1965-date (annual), $2.00 or $3.00 each (set of last five volumes available for $10.00), paper)

Maurice F. Tauber and Hilda Feinberg's Book Catalogs (Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1971—$15.00)

Martin E. Dann (ed.) The Black Press: 1827-1890 (New York: Putnam, 1971—$7.95)     

The Future of the Library As a Place of Learning: A Personal Perspective

As the twenty-first century unfolds and we move to a new economy based not on knowledge but on ideas will the Library as a place disappear? In a connected world where users have extensive access to vast amounts of information why would they go to libraries and, more importantly, are there reasons for us to construct new library buildings in the twenty-first century? While the power of technology makes libraries more able to deliver improved services, digitization and remote access may conspire to make them irrelevant as places. However the real impact of technology is how it affects the practice of teaching and learning. The importance of creating a national learning infrastructure that benefits as many people as possible is more important than ever before for global competitiveness. Libraries focused on their contribution to learning will not merely be important places as the learning society develops but will be essential to its success. To be part of that picture, Libraries need to consider how they can support the ideas economy and provide facilities that become essential to the lives of twenty-first century learners.     

Endurance training adherence in elite junior netball athletes: A test of the theory of planned behaviour and a revised theory of planned behaviour

This study examined the utility of Ajzen's () theory of planned behaviour and Maddux's () revised theory of planned behaviour to predict endurance training intentions and adherence of elite junior netball athletes. One hundred and fifteen athletes from the England Netball World Class Start Programme were assessed on constructs central to the predictions of the two theories. Adherence to a recommended endurance training programme was recorded in self-report diaries across a 9-week period. Validity for the diaries was supported by significant correlations (P <?0.001) with recalls across 7 days and 9 weeks. Adherence was moderate and variable between athletes (mean = 66.05, s = 25.75%). Two separate path analyses were conducted to examine the predictions of the theories. Goodness-of-fit indices suggested acceptable fit of the data to the models. Analyses showed that attitude towards the new behaviour, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control predicted training intentions. The relationship between intention and adherence was weak. The present results suggest that the constructs of the theory of planned behaviour offer some insight into the explanation of intentions to follow an endurance training programme. Constructs unique to the revised theory of planned behaviour did not significantly predict training intentions or behaviour. Implications for practitioners working with team sport performers are provided.     

Paradigm wars, dialogue or dance: is rapprochement possible and/or desirable?

In focusing on the Kincheloe and Tobin paper, ‘The Much Exaggerated Death of Positivism,’ this forum explores the hegemony of positivism in the professional practices of a group of educators whose research expertise lies in the fields of science education, mathematics education and leadership education. Responding to the first question, ‘What is your personal/professional experience of the hegemony of positivism?’, four key issues arise: is positivism part of the external world or is it within us (and thus what is our agency)?, the role of positivism as a driver of Western cultural imperialism, dualism as the chief logic of positivism, and the difficulty of responding to positivism from a pluralist perspective. The second question, ‘Is rapprochement between positivism and other paradigms possible and/or desirable without being re-colonised?’, raises a number of key issues that, although relatively new to science education, are of increasing interest to cultural studies researchers keen to embrace alternative research paradigms with which to create culturally inclusive science curricula. The discussants reveal their personal experiences of being marginalised by the hegemony of positivism and give voice to a range of opinions about how best to respond. The integral perspective of spiral dynamics is proposed as a model of paradigm evolution, our fundamental assumptions about modern progress are questioned, and the non-dualist logic of dialectics is explored as a more inclusive rationality for researchers. In the spirit of counter-hegemonic cultural studies, the discussants draw on their personal Buddhist and Hindu perspectives to open new doorways into complex ontological systems lying beyond the simplistic materialism of crypto-positivism. We are given a glimpse of powerful means of generating new insights into the emergent universe (within and without) that an evolving science endeavours to explain.     

Performance characteristics of retarded and normal students on pattern recognition tasks

The purpose was to compare the performance of normal and educable mentally retarded children on pattern recognition tasks. Pattern recognition was assessed by the administration of 96 pattern tasks which measured the ability of children to find: (a) duplicate patterns and same elements as presented in model pattern sequences; (b) opposite patterns and same elements as presented in model pattern sequences; and (c) duplicate patterns but different elements than presented in model pattern sequences. The normal and mentally retarded children were matched on mental age derived from individual and group intelligence tests. Results indicated significant differences in performance measures between groups and various pattern tasks. The data support the suppositions that: (a) mentally retarded children and normal children show the same type of progression through the hierarchical arrangement of pattern tasks; and (b) mentally retarded children show a slower progression through the hierarchy than normal children when matched on mental age. Educational implications from this study are discussed.     

We can be as busy as a bee: a grounded theory study of Filipino elderly prisoners’ engagement

ABSTRACT

The centrality of social relationship for older adults living in prison cannot be underestimated. While previous studies have investigated the loss of social functioning among older prisoners, there is no known information pertaining to how engagement is experienced among this vulnerable group. This grounded study purports to describe the process by which engagement is experienced among a select group of incarcerated Filipino elderly. Strauss and Corbin’s Grounded Theory design was utilized. A total of 25 incarcerated Filipino elderly in the largest penitentiary in the country were purposively chosen to participate in semi-structured interviews. Field texts were subjected to thematic analysis involving open, axial, and selective coding. Finally, themes were validated via member checking procedure. Interestingly, the study afforded the development of de Guzman, Herrera, Hernando, Hipe, and Valdez Zipper of Engagement Theory among incarcerated elderly. Interestingly, three phases relative to engagement emerged, namely: Initiating, Connecting, and Enabling. Primarily, the Initiating phase involves feelings of fear and nervousness as the incarcerated elderly familiarize themselves with the prison environment. The Connecting phase typifies recognition of the benefits of engagement leading to voluntary participation in activities. Finally, in the Enabling phase, inmates empower themselves and others to grow as they fully acquire the sense of engagement. Gerontological education and research implications are discussed.     

Promoting Inclusive Communities in Diverse Classrooms: Teacher Attunement and Social Dynamics Management

Classroom social integration with peers is vital to students’ school success, and all students can benefit from contact with peers who are different in various ways. Teachers are uniquely positioned to support the social adaptation of diverse learners but require an understanding of classroom dynamics. Moreover, teachers need strategies that help to leverage positive peer dynamics and that promote an engaged classroom climate for all students. Reflecting a person-in-context perspective, this review discusses the peer relations and social adjustment of students, particularly in classrooms with a diverse range of student characteristics and instructional needs, and proposes that teachers’ use of social dynamics management strategies can foster classroom communities that support the involvement and adjustment of all students.     

Opening Windows, Closing Doors: Ethical Dilemmas in Educational Action Research

The chapter records personal accounts of the author's dealings with dilemmas encountered in the research methods literature and in the field of practice, as an action researcher and teacher educator. It draws on Mary Chamberlain's Fenwomen to illustrate some of the dangers of ethnographic research. Using data from two instances, one in a pre-service initial teacher-training programme and the other in teacher induction, the author draws out the tensions between the 'need to know' in order to act professionally, and the 'need to protect' in order to do the same.