Factors for consideration to achieve a contextually appropriate physical environment in Malaysian preschools

ABSTRACT

With studies on the physical environment of preschools concentrating mostly on settings in the Western world, before establishing minimum standards of quality, developing contextually appropriate physical environment factors become pertinent in Malaysia as a universal and possibly unaffordable high-quality standard may lead to ill-informed policy decision and allocation of funds (UNESCO 2006. EFA Global Monitoring Report 2007. Strong Foundations?: Early Childhood Care and Education). As a preliminary study, this conceptual paper sets out to uncover factors for consideration to achieve a contextually appropriate physical environment. In this article, ‘preschool’ denotes establishments for children aged four to six years in diverse educational settings. This article draws from two major fields: preschool education and physical environment of preschools. After secondary analysis of data, preliminary findings critically analysed from reviews of literature through a cross-disciplinary approach indicated that factors for consideration to achieve contextual appropriate physical environment include understanding the curriculum content; learning belief and culture of learning; physical environment factors (including allowable premise for establishing preschools, spatial planning, environmental condition and interior fit out) and statutory requirements (including health and safety factors and existing guidelines). Recommendations for future direction are discussed.     

A “Chameleonic” Identity: Foreign-Born Doctoral Students in U.S. Counselor Education

This study explored the interplay between a multidimensional model of acculturation and professional identity development among eight foreign-born doctoral students in U.S. counselor education. Themes generated through an interpretive phenomenological analysis revealed that the participants, while trying to adapt to the Euro-American cultural context of their counselor programs, experienced a sense of conflict, loss, and grief, resulting in what they called a “chameleonic” professional identity. Findings illustrated that for international counseling students, professional identity development is an arduous and complex process deeply intertwined with their acculturation experiences. Implications for counselor programs and future research are further discussed.     

Editorial

It is arguable whether Singapore's mainstream schools are moving towards ‘inclusion’ by providing support for students with mild to moderate disabilities through the provision of a newly created para-professional called the Allied Educators (Learning and Behavioural) [AED(LBS)]. Since 2005, the government has provided an incremental supply of these trained para-professionals to offer both in-class support and withdrawal sessions. Many primary and secondary schools have one such para-professional catering to an unpredictable number of children with and without assessed learning needs. This paper draws upon data from a study investigating how a group of 30 newly qualified AED(LBS) para-professionals shaped their professional role during their first year in school. Data were generated through an online survey, interviews; and analysed through theories on identity and communities of practice. Findings focus on how the participants had learned to grow into their roles despite contradictory expectations; how they learn to work with student diversity they had never encountered; and how schools should be learning communities to embrace and include the new AED(LBS). The paper discusses the need to define ‘inclusivity’ and the need for the education system to become more professionally inclusive towards AED(LBS).     

The experiential dimensions of internet shopping: An ethnographic analysis of online store websites

While shopping is a practical act of purchasing products and services, it is also recognised as a recreational activity with experiential dimensions. Online shopping is no exception. This study focuses on the experiential dimensions of online shopping by conducting an ethnographic analysis of online store websites to identify website features which can provide online shoppers with sensory stimulation and social gains, and invoke affective responses. Websites of four product and service categories were studied: books, CDs, travel‐related services, and apparel. The findings suggest that some website features have the potential for developing parasocial relationships between online shoppers and online stores, and for heightening consumer affect and fostering store loyalty.     

The relationships of online journalists' emotional responses to competitors with job satisfaction,workload, and perception of the quality of the news website

An e-mail survey of online journalists reveals that online journalists' emotional responses to their competitors' coverage are significantly correlated with their job satisfaction, workload, and the perceived quality of their news website. The more negatively online journalists feel when they get scooped by their competitors, the more unsatisfied they are with their jobs. The more negatively the journalists feel about getting scooped, the more the workload the journalists feel that they have. The more positively online journalists feel when they scoop their competitors, the more positively they perceive the quality of their news website. In addition, the greater the workload the journalists consider that they have, the more unsatisfied they are with their jobs. The more positively the journalists perceive the quality of their news organization, the more satisfied they are with their jobs.     

Reframing the Cultural Differences between the East and the West

This study proposes that the fundamental cultural differences between the East and the West lie in a holistic-analytic worldview, and this new perspective can explain the cultural differences better than collectivism-individualism. To test the claim, this study developed a measurement for holism and its derivative, cognitive relativity. Then, it examined the degree of holism, cognitive relativity, and independent and interdependent self-construals with Korean and American college students. Results showed that (a) Koreans had a stronger holistic worldview than Americans, (b) Koreans maintained a higher degree of cognitive relativity than Americans, (c) Koreans and Americans did not differ in either independent or interdependent self-construals, and (d) the impact of holism was still strong after controlling for the effects of self-construals.     

Fruit quality, anthocyanin and total phenolic contents, and antioxidant activities of 45 blueberry cultivars grown in Suwon, Korea

Blueberry fruits from 45 commercial cultivars (39 northern highbush and 6 half highbush blueberry) grown in Suwon, Korea were analyzed for fruit size, soluble solids content, titratable acidity, total anthocyanin content, total phenolic content, and antioxidant activity. Fruit characteristics varied widely among the 45 blueberry cultivars. Fruit weight ranged from 0.9 to 3.6 g, soluble solids content from 8.3 to 14.3 °Brix, and titratable acidity from 0.8% to 3.6%. Antioxidant activity ranged from 0.7 to 2.1 mg of quercetin equivalents per gram of fresh berries in different blueberry cultivars. Among the 45 blueberry cultivars, high amounts of anthocyanins and polyphenols, and high antioxidant activity were observed in ‘Elliott’, ‘Rubel’, ‘Rancocas’, and ‘Friendship’.     

Mining direct antagonistic communities in signed social networks

Social networks provide a wealth of data to study relationship dynamics among people. Most social networks such as Epinions and Facebook allow users to declare trusts or friendships with other users. Some of them also allow users to declare distrusts or negative relationships. When both positive and negative links co-exist in a network, some interesting community structures can be studied. In this work, we mine Direct Antagonistic Communities (DACs) within such signed networks. Each DAC consists of two sub-communities with positive relationships among members of each sub-community, and negative relationships among members of the other sub-community. Identifying direct antagonistic communities is an important step to understand the nature of the formation, dissolution, and evolution of such communities. Knowledge about antagonistic communities allows us to better understand and explain behaviors of users in the communities.     

A framework for developing pre‐service teachers’ competencies in using technologies to enhance teaching and learning

This paper presents a framework for developing pre‐service teachers’ competencies in using technologies to enhance teaching and learning. It focuses on building the capacity of teacher education institutions (TEI) based on six strategic dimensions: (1) vision and philosophy; (2) program; (3) professional learning of deans, teacher educators and support staff; (4) ICT plan, infrastructure, resources and support; (5) communications and partnerships; and (6) research and evaluation. This paper describes each of these six strategic dimensions and synthesizes these in the overall framework for developing pre‐service teachers’ competencies in generating technology‐enhanced teaching and learning.     

Meritocracy,elitism, and egalitarianism: a preliminary and provisional assessment of Singapore's primary education review

Meritocracy functions in Singapore as the key principle of governance and educational distribution. However, the concept of meritocracy itself contains a number of inherent contradictions, most evidently witnessed in the tension between its egalitarian and elitist strands. This tension is documented in the recommendations of Singapore's recent primary education review, already accepted by the Ministry of Education and to be implemented in the coming years. This article considers these recommendations against the backdrop of a tentative movement towards egalitarianism in educational distribution. Specifically, it provides a preliminary and provisional assessment of how far they would go towards providing for greater educational equity and, therefore, in recovering the ideology of meritocracy in the nation-state.