Policy and advocacy content in early childhood teacher education: Results of a national survey

Abstract

One important strategy for strengthening policy and advocacy in early childhood education is through the incorporation of specific course content in teacher education programs [New Perspectives in Early Childhood Teacher Education: Bringing Practitioners Into the Debate, Teachers College Press, NY, New York, 1994]. Yet, to date, little is known about the extent to which content relating to these two important issues are incorporated into teacher education programs. In response to this gap, an exploratory study of early childhood teacher education programs was conducted to determine the nature of policy and advocacy content included in undergraduate and graduate programs in the United States. Public and private institutions, ranging in size from small four‐year colleges to large public universities, participated in this national survey. Results indicated that advocacy and policy content is incorporated in most teacher education programs in a varied, yet unsystematic, manner. Respondents also identified a range of current and needed resources to support advocacy and policy education as well as a number of barriers that impede incorporation of such content in their programs.     

积极心理学是科学吗?

正重大发现?一门新学科诞生了,一定有什么重大学术成果产生。积极心理学作为一条新的心理学分支,它有什么重大发现吗?有,在说之前我先讲个故事吧。塞利格曼当上美国心理学会主席后的某一天,他的女儿看到自己5岁大的女儿尼奇(即塞利格曼的外孙女)将种子抛向天空,手舞足蹈地假装在播种。老塞正想制止孙女,女儿却对他说:"爸爸,我能与你谈谈吗?"老塞问想谈什么?女儿说:"爸爸,你还记得我5岁生     

Influence of Process Parameters on Chlorinated Biocide Decontamination by li-CO2 on Artificially Contaminated Model Materials

ABSTRACT

Previously, heavy use of biocides for the treatment of objects made of organic materials in museum collections (e.g. ethnographic, historical collections) was very common. Now suitable decontamination methods/technologies are being sought. A decontamination treatment by li-CO₂ was optimized that considered the specific requirements of museum objects. The treatment was tested on model materials artificially contaminated with biocide solutions containing dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), pentachlorophenol (PCP), lindane, and permethrin or cypermethrin. High decontamination was achieved for DDT, lindane, PCP, and permethrin on artificially biocide loaded wool and wood model materials. Optimal process parameter settings for li-CO₂ decontamination include a single 30?min cycle for woolen materials and three sequential 30?min cycles each for wood. These methods allow a reduction of at least 90% of all biocides for wool and between 70% and 85% for wood. Decontamination of the latter was more effective for less polar biocides as DDT and permethrin. Despite a significant improvement in decontamination for wood using co-solvents such as acetone, ethanol, and methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE), their use is not recommended due to the increased risk of damage to the objects, in particular if a surface coating is present.     

The work of the audience: visual matrix methodology in museums

ABSTRACT

Visual matrix methodology has been designed for researching cultural imaginaries. It is an image-led, group-based method that creates a “third space” research setting to observe audience groups re-enacting lived experience of an event or process that takes place in the third space of a cultural setting. In this article, the method is described through its use in relation to an art-science exhibition, Human+ Future of the species, where three audience groups with investments in technology worked with exhibition material to achieve a complex ambivalent state of mind regarding technological futures. The visual matrix has been designed to capture the affective and aesthetic quality of audience engagement in third space by showing what audiences do with what is presented to them. We argue that such methodologies are useful for museums as they grapple with their role as sites where citizens not only engage in dialogue with one another but actively re-work their imaginaries of the future.     

Place,food practices,and scientific knowledge

Cultural Studies of Science Education - This commentary seeks to extend the discussion on place, food practices, and ancestral scientific knowledge presented in Silvia Lizette Ramos de...     

Three suggested teaching strategies for students who are deaf or hard of hearing

This paper addresses current issues in deaf education including poor academic progress and employment outcomes of individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing (D/HH) as well as provides suggestions for improving overall academic achievement of this population. Specifically, three instructional strategies are recommended for teachers: choral responding, response cards, and peer tutoring. These three strategies have been shown to increase active student responding in classrooms for children who are typically developing and children who have disabilities. For international deaf students in countries that may rely on volunteers who lack basic requisite skills these general education teaching strategies are easy to use even by novice teachers. Recommendations are tendered for how teachers can include these simple teaching strategies in classrooms serving students who are D/HH.     

Strategies in assessing the need for updating evidence-based guidelines for six clinical topics: an exploration of two search methodologies

BACKGROUND: Because of the expense of updating practice guidelines, recent attention has focused on approaches that can reliably assess any updating required. Shekelle et al. (Journal of the American Medical Association 2001, 286, 1461-7) proposed using limited literature searches with expert involvement to reduce resources used in assessing whether a guideline needs updating. OBJECTIVES: This study compared Shekelle's method and the traditional systematic review method regarding comprehensiveness and effort. METHODS: Two research teams translated critical key questions on screening test treatments and outcomes to Medical Subjects Headings (MeSH) and search strategies. They refined Shekelle's method over three iterations, seeking greater efficiency. Using both methods independently, teams assessed the need to update six topics from the 1996 Guide to Clinical Preventive Services (US Preventive Services Task Force). Outcomes included completeness of study identification, importance of missed studies and effort involved. RESULTS: The revised review approach produced fewer citations than the traditional approach and saved time, identifying fewer eligible studies than the traditional approach. None of the studies missed was rated important by the experts consulted. CONCLUSIONS: The revised review approach provides an acceptable method for judging whether a guideline requires updating. Librarians were an integral part of the research process that streamlined the searches.