Preparing our students to publish: Lessons learned

Doctoral students' inexperience in publication writing poses a challenge to higher education faculties. The approach detailed here to collegial writing—professors and students working as colleagues—offers one response. The assumptions guiding the course are followed by an elaboration of its key structuring components. The article concludes with a discussion of five lessons essential to the replication of a similar publication writing workshop in other settings. Among them are adopting a process model, electing a nontraditional course mode, employing cooperative learning as the dominant strategy, and drawing on schoolwide faculty to broaden perspectives on publication.Margo A. Figgins, Assistant Professor of English Education at the University of Virginia, directs the University's Young Writers Workshop, co-directs the Central Virginia Writing Project and, as a poet, works with Virginia students and teachers through the state's Artists-in-Education program.Harold J. Burbach is Associate Professor of Education at the University of Virginia.     

The scholarship of teaching and learning: A Special Niche for Faculty at Comprehensive Universities?

We investigated the involvement of faculty members at comprehensive universities in scholarship of teaching and learning publishing activities in four disciplines. Compared to to their publishing rates in research-oriented journals, comprehensive university faculty members were more involved in publishing articles and serving on editorial boards for pedagogical journals. Over the past three decades, the relative involvement in the scholarship of teaching and learning journals by faculty members at comprehensive universities and liberal arts colleges has increased whereas participation by faculty members at research universities has declined.     

Reform Implementation and the Realities within which Teachers Work: A Namibian case study

Implementation is currently considered a critical stage of educational reform. This article focuses on the pivotal role of teachers in the achievement of effective implementation. They ultimately implement reforms. The teacher's role in the reform process however, has received little empirical research attention and tends not to be seriously considered by policy makers. This article discusses the findings of a three-year (1995-1997) research study in Namibia which suggests that the failure of policy makers to take into account the realities within which teachers work, their 'classroots realities', led to the development of English Language Teaching reforms that were significantly beyond teachers' capacity. Consequently, teachers did not successfully implement them. The article explores this within a framework of objective and subjective 'classroots reality' implementation factors. In view of the paucity of empirical research that explores implementation, this framework can improve our understanding of the depth and complexity of the implementation process and provide useful guidelines upon which policy makers can draw.     

Sibling Differences in Divorced Families

Sibling differences in family processes and individual adjustment were examined for 133 sibling pairs (10–18 years old) in divorced families. Although all siblings differed, siblings who lived apart after their parents' divorce differed more than siblings who lived together, contradicting past research that found negligible effects of shared environment on sibling similarities. The possibility that siblings might live apart because they were initially more different was considered. This hypothesis was not supported in the limited tests permitted by the data. Differences in family processes were associated with differences in adjustment for pairs who lived together as well as pairs who lived apart.     

Science and schooling for students with LD: a discussion of the symposium

In this summative discussion, we respond to Crockett's proposals about supporting science in the schoolhouse, and we summarize and reflect on the perspectives of the commentators. Overall, they identify discussion points in issues of science in schooling, implementation of scientific practices, teacher training and professional development, and issues in educational administration and leadership. We agree with Crockett and the commentators that intensive efforts in all these areas must be made to strengthen the role of science in the schoolhouse.     

Your place or mine? global imbalances in internationalisation and mobilisation in educational professional experience

International mobility programmes and opportunities have enthusiastically been embraced by universities as part of a growing demand for graduates with global, international and intercultural capital on the part of graduates. In this project, we take two universities, one Australian and one Indonesian, as illustrative case studies of some of the commonalities, differences and, in particular, imbalances, with regard to the conduct of international professional experience in the global north and south. Specifically, a recent visit by Indonesian pre-service teachers was used to inform an upcoming visit by Australian pre-service teachers to Indonesia. We used this opportunity to compare the accessibility of travel for Australian and Indonesian pre-service teachers, as illustrations of in/equality of access for northern and southern learners. We hope that this paper will prompt discussion about global imbalances of opportunity with regard to international experiences. We also hope that our mutual interview process adopted for this study might be a useful research tool.     

Can children effectively reuse the same mnemonic pegwords?

Seventy-three fifth-grade students were taught nine North American minerals and their corresponding hardness levels under either mnemonic (pegword/keyword) or free-study conditions. In the zero-repetition (standard) condition, each mineral was paired with a unique hardness level (1–9); in the one-repetition condition, three hardness levels were each represented by two different minerals (and three hardness levels by one mineral); and in the two-repetition condition, three hardness levels were each represented by three different minerals (and three hardness levels by one mineral); and in the two-repetition condition, three hardness levels were each represented by three different minerals. In all repetition conditions, mnemonic subjects significantly and substantially outperformed students who were given free study. Possibilities for adapting mnemonic techniques to overcome stimulus-produced interference are discussed.     

Adolescents' perceptions of their fathers' involvement: Significance to school attitudes

Based on data from 2,722 British adolescents aged 14–18 years, this study explored whether perceived father involvement can be associated with school attitudes even after controlling for perceived mother involvement. Multiple regression analysis showed that both father involvement and mother involvement contributed significantly and independently to positive school attitudes. Furthermore, the association between father involvement and school attitudes was the same for sons and daughters. We did not find evidence to support the notion that being in a non‐intact family weakens the association between perceived father involvement and school attitudes. Finally, there was no evidence suggesting that the impact of perceived father involvement on school attitudes depends on the level of perceived mother involvement. © 2002, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.