BEGINNING PREKINDERGARTEN AND KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS’ BELIEFS AND PRACTICES: SUPPORTS AND BARRIERS TO DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE PRACTICES

This study explores the beliefs and practices of nine beginning prekindergarten and kindergarten public school teachers and identified the sources of supports and barriers to their teaching. The teachers were graduates from one university's early childhood education program. Data were gathered using surveys, observations, and interviews. Overall, teachers professed to believe in and to use developmentally appropriate practices; they were also observed using more developmentally appropriate practices than developmentally inappropriate practices. Teachers reported a variety of sources of support and barriers to their teaching. Sources that were both supports and barriers were administration, co‐workers, curriculum requirements, parents, resources, and other. Sources reported only as supports were previous experiences, self, and continued education. Sources of barriers were class composition and school duties. In addition, teachers provided information about their teacher education program and on their expectations about teaching. The teachers suggested that teacher education programs needed to provide more field experiences and courses on classroom management. Some of the expectations the teachers had about teaching were unrealistic.     

“Masculine” vs. “feminine” strategies in political ADS: Implications for female candidates

This study explored several research questions concerning strategies typically said to be beneficial for female political candidates. Six 60‐second videotaped political commercials were produced featuring a female “candidate”, each containing either a “masculine” or a “feminine” strategy. The strategies were aggressive, nonaggressive, career, family, ambitious, and nonambitious. Each political commercial was inserted into a set of four locally produced, nonpolitical ads. Six groups of students were randomly assigned to each of the six treatment groups. After viewing the commercials, subjects were asked to fill out a questionnaire to measure response to the candidate and to the ads through semantic differentials and Likert‐scale questions. Results from the study indicate that the “aggressive” strategy worked better in comparison with the “nonaggressive” strategy and the “career” strategy worked better in comparison with the “family” strategy. Few significant differences were found between the “ambitious” and the “nonambitious” strategies. Several implications for female candidates are discussed.     

Examining verbal style in presidential campaign spots

Presidential candidates rely on political television spots to communicate their messages to voters, and the language used in spots conveys the verbal style of the candidate. This analysis of 1267 presidential spot units from 1952 through 1996 uses computerized content analysis to identify the presence of verbal style previously identified by Roderick Hart: optimism, realism, activity, and certainty. Findings show different patterns for different presidential candidates, but overall trends suggest that optimism, realism, and certainty has been decreasing. Differences in verbal style for political parties, incumbents and challengers, and winners and losers are also explored.     

Poetic Representations in Sport and Physical Education: Insider Perspectives 1

As part of the emergence of new writing practices in the social sciences, qualitative researchers have begun to harness the potential of poetic representations as a means of analysing social worlds and communicating their findings to others. To date, this genre has been little used within the domains of sport and physical education. Accordingly, in this article, we provide examples of poetic representations and seek to generate insights into the process of their construction by exploring the perspectives of their authors. A rationale for choosing this genre is outlined and the potential benefits and risks of making this choice for both the researcher and the audience are considered. It is concluded that poetic representations are a worthy addition to the analytical repertoire in qualitative research.     

Ice Can Look like Glass: A Phenomenological Investigation of Movement Meaning in One Fifth-Grade Class during a Creative Dance Unit

Abstract

The movement meanings of students (n = 19) in one fifth-grade class during a creative dance unit focusing on effort (force, time, space, flow) are investigated using a perspective grounded in transcendental phenomenology (Husserl, 1931). Data were collected via videotape, journal, and homework documents and semistructured interviews. Analytical induction (Patton, 2002) structured a four-step analysis process that reduced meaning to its essential essence. Movement meaning was found to be a multifaceted construct that varied among students within and across five dimensions. To enhance meaningful learning educators are encouraged to consider reflexively (a) their philosophical orientation relative to knowledge making and curriculum values, (b) instructional techniques that help students' access meaning and (c) the contribution of dance as a source of meaning.     

Factors that Affect Emergent Literacy Development When Engaging with Electronic Books

This article reviews extant literature with the purpose of identifying factors that affect the potential efficacy of electronic books to support literacy development during early childhood. Selection criteria include experimental, quasi-experimental, and observational studies from peer-reviewed journals from 2000 to 2013 with a target population of 3–7 year olds. Results established the following factors as relevant to potential literacy outcomes: interactive features, quality assessment, repetition, and adult interaction. Each factor is discussed in its relationship to literacy skills in order to identify optimal conditions for literacy growth. Findings in this review are pertinent to parents, educators, legislators, and software developers who are making software decisions that will impact early childhood students at home or in school. Future research and implications are considered.     

Popular Music

Steve Chapple and Reebee Garofalo Rock 'n' Roll is Here to Pay (Chicago: Nelson-Hall Publishers, 1977— $14.95/7.95).

Fred Dellar and Roy Thompson The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Country Music (New York: Harmony Books (Crown Publishers), 1977— $17.95),

J. Philip Di Franco, The Beatles in Richard Lester's A Hard Day's Night: A Complete Pictorial Record of the Movie (New York: Chelsea HOUSE' Publishers/Penguin Books, 1977—$12.50/5.95).

Lynda Rosen Obst The Sixties: The Decade Remembered Now by the People Who Lived It Then (New York: Random House/Rolling Stone Press, 1977—$19.95/9.95)

Bill Gutman Duke: The Musical Life of Duke Ellington (New York: Random House, 1977—$6.95),