A biographical narrative inquiry into teachers’ knowledge: an intergenerational approach

This study is an investigation into Chinese EFL teachers’ knowledge and understanding of teaching English as a foreign language within the context of a time of tremendous social change in China. In a medium-sized city, biographical narrative interviews and observation were used to three Chinese secondary EFL teachers, of three successive generations. An in-depth narrative analysis interpreting their metaphors, and constructing their life stories is employed to understand the biographical narrative data. It indicates how individual teacher’s knowledge is both constrained and enabled by themselves and by the wider society they live in, and how change and continuity are intertwined in the teaching and learning practices of the three generations. This paper also addresses certain key issues in biographical narrative studies, namely subjectivity, representation, and cultural bearings, and teachers’ knowledge, all of which constitute a form of pedagogy in educational research.     

Chemical bleaching of wood: an investigation into the bleaching of mahogany,walnut, rosewood,padauk, and purpleheart

This paper investigates chemical bleaching of wood to make species-specific practical recommendations for colour adjustment of veneer in furniture conservation. In more detail, chemical bleaching of Honduras mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla), European walnut (Juglans regia), Rio rosewood (Dalbergia nigra), padauk (Pterocarpus spp.), and purpleheart (Peltogyne spp.) is investigated using 11 different bleach solutions. Both oxidative (e.g. hydrogen peroxide and potassium permanganate) and reductive (e.g. oxalic acid and sodium bisulphite) solutions were used. The results show that the wood species react differently with the investigated bleach solutions. It can also be noted that not all investigated solutions were suitable for all wood species. Based on the results, wood species-specific bleach solutions are recommended.     

Third-Party Funding and Counselling in New Zealand: Implications for Counselling Services and Professional Autonomy

When, in New Zealand, a new third-party government funding arrangement was introduced for sexual abuse counselling, counsellors experienced challenges to their work practice and professional autonomy. There are some parallels between this experience and the influence of Managed Care on counselling in the United States. This article interprets the ways in which the development of counselling in New Zealand, and the New Zealand Association of Counsellors (NZAC) interacted with the government agency, the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC). responsible for the funding. The resulting funding arrangements, while initially mutually beneficial to government and counsellors, are now being questioned by counsellors and the NZAC. Possible responses to this situation by New Zealand counsellors are explored and discussed in the context of wider international responses to third-party funding issues.     

The influence of the information value provided by prior-cuing treatment on the reactivation of memory in preweanling rats

In two experiments, the influence of exposure to a CS? on the acquisition and retention of a conditioned odor aversion was examined. Preweanling rats were given exposure to the CS? either prior to (CS?/CS+) or following (CS + /CS?) the pairing of a second odor (the CS+) with footshock. The results of Experiment 1 indicated that subjects in both of the treatment conditions acquired aversions of comparable strength to the odor paired with footshock and that retention of the odor aversion was not affected by order of stimulus presentation during conditioning. Experiment 2 indicated, however, that the effectiveness of pretest exposure to various elements of the conditioning episode in reactivation of the memory for conditioningwas dependent on the order of stimulus presentation during conditioning. This differential effectiveness of the various reactivation treatments is discussed in terms of their relationship to the associative “status” of the stimuli present during conditioning and in terms of the information provided to the animal by the reactivation treatment.     

Conversing with pedagogical agents: A phenomenological exploration of interacting with digital entities

In this paper, we examine the meaning of conversing with pedagogical agents. Previous research has focused on examining cause and effect relationships, failing to take into account the meaning of the experiences individuals have when holding a dialogue with conversational agents for educational purposes. To understand these experiences, we have conducted a phenomenological examination of what it means to converse with a pedagogical agent. In phenomenological terms, findings suggest the experience is complex, engrossing, virtual yet real, human‐like, and social. Implications for the future design, implementation, and research of conversational agents in educational and other settings are discussed.     

Responding to student expectations: a partnership approach to course evaluation

This paper presents a study that used newly developed instruments to investigate student expectations at two points in a semester‐based course. Course convenors were able to make some changes in response to the feedback, explain to students how the feedback had informed the course processes, and work with tutors on delivery enhancements. The administration of these instruments, a partnership approach involving students, tutors and lecturers, contributed to the creation of a responsive teaching and learning environment. In addition to enabling real‐time changes to be made, evaluation of the total teaching and learning experience ensured that improvements were made to subsequent offerings of the same course. Also, insights from one course were evaluated in terms of applicability to other courses offered within the same academic discipline. The study finds that establishing student expectations provides a framework for developing a responsive and iterative approach to achieving excellence in teaching and learning.     

Training reading and phoneme awareness skills in children with Down syndrome

The authors report a short-term reading intervention study involving 15 children with Down syndrome (DS) who attended mainstream schools. The intervention programme taught children phoneme segmentation and blending skills in the context of learning letter-sounds and working with words in books. The children were taught by their learning support assistants, who received special training for this purpose. Compared to a waiting group, a group of eight children with DS improved significantly on measures of early literacy skills (letter-sound knowledge, Early Word Recognition) following eight weeks of intervention. The waiting group started to make progress once they received the intervention. Both groups maintained progress on the literacy measures five months after the intervention had finished. The results suggest that children with DS can benefit from structured, phonics-based reading intervention.     

Vulnerability to Bullying: Teacher-reported conduct and emotional problems,hyperactivity, peer relationship difficulties,and prosocial behaviour in primary school children

Twenty five class teachers completed a "Strengths and Difficulties" assessment for 523 children aged from 7 to 11 years of age. Children self-completed a 39-item "My Life in School" questionnaire. One third of the sample were self-reported victims of bullying behaviour. Boys with poor prosocial skills, emotional problems and general difficulties with social interaction, expression of emotion and hyperactivity were at greatest risk of being bullied. There was no significant effect of age. The data support previous research findings that gender influences the prevalence of bullying but not that younger children are more vulnerable. This study provides new evidence that teachers recognise social behaviour and interactions that can significantly affect whether primary school children are bullied.     

Peers'' Perceptions of the Consequences That Victimized Children Provide Aggressors

Fourth- through seventh-grade children (mean age 11.5 years) estimated the likelihood that various consequences would occur following hypothetical acts of aggression toward victimized and nonvictimized classmates. Children also indicated how much they would care if the consequences were to occur. When contemplating aggression toward victimized classmates, children were more likely to expect tangible rewards, more likely to expect signs of victim suffering, and less likely to expect retaliation than when considering aggression against nonvictimized classmates. Also, when considering aggression toward victimized classmates, children cared more about securing tangible rewards but were less disturbed by the thought of hurting their victims or by the thought of their victims retaliating than when imagining aggression toward nonvictimized classmates. The foregoing pattern was stronger for boys than for girls. Implications for theories of aggression and for intervention with aggressive and victimized children are discussed.